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 .
The claims 1-15 and 21-25 are pending in this application. This is a non-final office action in response to Application Number 18/862,638 filed on 4 November 2024 with a preliminary amendment also filed on 4 November 2024 in which the specification is amended, claims 1 and 14 are amended, claims 16-20 are canceled, and claims 21-25 are added.
The instant application is a 371 of PCT/KR2023/006120 filed on 4 May 2023 and claims priority to provisional applications 63,400,362 filed on 23 August 2022 and 63/400,419 filed on 24 August 2022, as well as claims foreign priority to Korean applications 10-2022-0055739 filed on 4 May 2022, 10-2022-0056737 filed on 9 May 2022, 10-2022-0057342 filed on 10 May 2022, and 10-2022-0186127 filed on 27 December 2022.
The applicant of record is LG Electronics Inc. in Seoul, Republic of Korea and the inventors of record are Daesung Hwang, Seungmin Lee, and Hanbyul Seo. Examiner notes that application papers have been signed by a U.S.-registered patent practitioner.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 15 November 2024 and 18 May 2026 were filed after the filing date of the instant application on 4 November 2024 and before the mailing date of the first office action on the merits. The submissions are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Interpretation
The claims have been considered according to the latest Patent Eligibility Guidelines and are considered eligible.
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 1-15 and 21-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ye et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2021/0321403) in view of Lei et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2023/0292345)
Regarding claim 1, Ye disclosed a method comprising:
obtaining, by a first device, information related to a plurality of candidate starting symbols within a slot for sidelink (SL) transmission, wherein the plurality of candidate starting symbols include a first starting symbol and a second starting symbol (see Lei combination below);
obtaining a reference number of symbols (see Ye [0029], Fig. 1 #110: UE1 receives resource pool configuration; [0035], Fig. 2 #202 “receive a resource pool configuration…” including a variety of reference symbol information | [0072], Fig. 6 #602 “receive resource pool configuration…”) for transport block size (TBS) determination (Examiner notes that the phrase “for transport block size (TBS) determination” is intended use, however in Ye Fig. 1 #118, UE1 “determine transport block size” as the last step of a process beginning with the resource pool configuration);
determining, based on the reference number of symbols, a number of resource elements (REs) allocated for a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) within the slot (see Ye Fig. 2 #218, [0046]: calculating a number of resource elements for sidelink data based on multiple types of overhead that were calculated in steps #206-#216 based on reference symbol numbers | [0072], Fig. 6 #604: “calculate the number of resource elements for sidelink data”); and
determining a TBS based on the number of REs allocated for the PSSCH (see Ye [0033], Fig. 1 #118 “determine transport block size” occurs after #114 “calculate a number of resource elements for sidelink data”; examiner notes that #114 is illustrated in additional detail in Fig. 2 and Fig. 6).
With respect to the above four claim limitations (“obtaining…”, “obtaining…”, “determining…”, and “determining…”), examiner notes that there is no relationship between the first limitation and the second, third, and fourth limitations. Examiner recommends amending the claims to clarify how the candidate starting symbols (first limitation) are related to the transport block size determination (second, third, and fourth limitations).
Ye did not explicitly disclose “obtaining, by a first device, information related to a plurality of candidate starting symbols within a slot for sidelink (SL) transmission, wherein the plurality of candidate starting symbols include a first starting symbol and a second starting symbol”, however in a related art of sidelink communication, Lei disclosed:
Lei [0062]: “In order to provide a plurality of transmission opportunities for a sidelink transmission in a slot, a set of candidate starting positions for the sidelink transmission in the slot may be configured by RRC signaling, predefined, or implicitly determined based on the structure of the symbol groups…”;
Lei [0037]: “To improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, before performing a channel access procedure, a UE may prepare a plurality of PSCCHs/PSSCHs corresponding to a plurality of candidate starting positions in a slot. For example, the UE may prepare a first PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 0, a second PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 4 and a third PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 8. According to the results of the channel access procedure, the UE may select one of the plurality of prepared PSCCHs/PSSCHs.”
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 2, Ye-Lei disclosed the method of claim 1, wherein, based on the plurality of candidate starting symbols being allowed within the slot, the number of REs allocated for the PSSCH within the slot is determined based on the reference number of symbols (see Ye Fig. 2 #218, [0046]: calculating a number of resource elements for sidelink data based on multiple types of overhead that were calculated in steps #206-#216 based on reference symbol numbers | [0072], Fig. 6 #604 “calculate the number of resource elements for sidelink data” || Lei [0039]: “…for a sidelink transmission(s) over an unlicensed spectrum, all symbols in a slot available for transmitting a PSSCH may be divided into one or more symbol groups for PSSCH transmission. The number of symbol groups may be dependent on the total number of symbols available for transmitting the PSSCH in a slot…”; [0041]: “…the structure of the symbol groups in a slot may be configured by radio resource control (RRC) signaling. For example, the number of the symbol groups in a slot, the number of symbols in each symbol group, or both may be configured by RRC signaling. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the structure of the symbol groups in a slot may be predefined, for example, in standards. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a set of candidate starting positions for a sidelink transmission(s) in a slot may be determined based on the structure of the symbol groups. In some examples, the number of candidate starting positions in a slot may be equal to the number of symbol groups in a slot…”; [0043]: “The following are some principles for determining the symbols available for transmitting a PSSCH…When the PSCCH and PSSCH are pure time division multiplexed in a slot, that is, there is no overlapping between the PSCCH and PSSCH in the frequency domain, when partitioning the symbol groups, the symbols for the PSCCH transmission are not counted in the symbols available for transmitting the PSSCH.”).
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 3, Ye-Lei disclosed the method of claim 1, wherein the reference number of symbols is configured or pre-configured for the first device (see Lei [0039]: “…for a sidelink transmission(s) over an unlicensed spectrum, all symbols in a slot available for transmitting a PSSCH may be divided into one or more symbol groups for PSSCH transmission. The number of symbol groups may be dependent on the total number of symbols available for transmitting the PSSCH in a slot…”; [0040]: “…In the case that a PSCCH and the associated PSSCH are multiplexed based on pure time division multiplexing (TDM), the PSCCH is not included in any of the symbol groups since the symbols for transmitting the PSCCH are not available for transmitting the PSSCH. In the case that a PSCCH and the associated PSSCH are multiplexed based on TDM and frequency division multiplexing (FDM), the symbols for transmitting the PSCCH are included in a symbol group (e.g., the first symbol group of the one or more symbol groups).”; [0041]: “…the structure of the symbol groups in a slot may be configured by radio resource control (RRC) signaling…In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the structure of the symbol groups in a slot may be predefined, for example, in standards…”; [0042]: “…The set of candidate starting positions may be configured by RRC signaling or predefined, for example, in standards. In some examples, the number of candidate starting positions in a slot may be equal to the number of symbol groups in a slot…”; [0043]: “The following are some principles for determining the symbols available for transmitting a PSSCH…When the PSCCH and PSSCH are pure time division multiplexed in a slot, that is, there is no overlapping between the PSCCH and PSSCH in the frequency domain, when partitioning the symbol groups, the symbols for the PSCCH transmission are not counted in the symbols available for transmitting the PSSCH.”; [0044]: “Demodulation reference signal (DMRS) may be required for decoding a PSSCH. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, each symbol group in a slot may include at least one DMRS symbol. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, at least one of the symbol groups in a slot may not include any DMRS symbol…”).
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 4, Ye-Lei disclosed the method of claim 1, wherein a TBS related to first SL transmission based on the first starting symbol and a TBS related to second SL transmission based on the second starting symbol are determined to be the same (see Lei Fig. 6, [0070]: “Referring to FIG. 6, including the first symbol for AGC tuning, a UE may prepare a single PSCCH/PSSCH with 14 symbols without the last gap symbol. In the case that a channel access procedure for the first candidate starting position (symbol 0) of slot n succeeds, all 14 prepared symbols are transmitted from symbol 0 to symbol 13 on the practical symbols of the slot, as shown at 610 in FIG. 6. Otherwise, in the case that the channel access procedure for symbol 0 fails, the UE may perform a channel access procedure for the second candidate starting position (symbol 3) of slot n.”; [0071]: “In the case that the channel access procedure for symbol 3 succeeds, since there are a total of 11 symbols (from symbol 3 to symbol 13) available in the slot, the first 11 symbols of the 14 prepared symbols are transmitted from symbol 3 to symbol 13 on the practical symbols of the slot, as shown at 620 in FIG. 6…”).
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 5, Ye-Lei disclosed the method of claim 1, wherein, based on that the first device fails to listen before talk (LBT) for the first starting symbol, the first device is allowed to use the second starting symbol (see Lei [0062]: “In order to provide a plurality of transmission opportunities for a sidelink transmission in a slot, a set of candidate starting positions for the sidelink transmission in the slot may be configured by RRC signaling, predefined, or implicitly determined based on the structure of the symbol groups. In a slot, a channel access procedure (e.g., LBT procedure) may be performed before the first candidate starting position of the set of candidate starting positions. When the channel access procedure succeeds, the sidelink transmission may start from the first candidate starting position in the slot. When the channel access procedure fails, another channel access procedure may be performed before the next (e.g., the second) candidate starting position of the set of candidate starting positions, until a channel access procedure succeeds at one of the set of candidate starting positions…”; Fig. 6, [0070]: “Referring to FIG. 6, including the first symbol for AGC tuning, a UE may prepare a single PSCCH/PSSCH with 14 symbols without the last gap symbol. In the case that a channel access procedure for the first candidate starting position (symbol 0) of slot n succeeds, all 14 prepared symbols are transmitted from symbol 0 to symbol 13 on the practical symbols of the slot, as shown at 610 in FIG. 6. Otherwise, in the case that the channel access procedure for symbol 0 fails, the UE may perform a channel access procedure for the second candidate starting position (symbol 3) of slot n.”).
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 6, Ye-Lei disclosed the method of claim 1, further comprising:
transmitting, to a second device, through a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), first sidelink control information (SCI) for scheduling of second SCI and the PSSCH; and transmitting, to the second device, through the PSSCH, the second SCI and data (see Lei Fig. 1, [0029]: “In both mode 1 and mode 2, the sidelink transmission may involve a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and an associated physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), which is scheduled by the sidelink control information (SCI) carried on the PSCCH. The SCI and associated PSSCH may be transmitted from a transmitting UE (hereinafter referred to as “Tx UE”) to a receiving UE (hereinafter referred to as “Rx UE”) in a unicast manner, to a group of Rx UEs in a groupcast manner, or to Rx UEs within a range in a broadcast manner. For example, referring to FIG. 1, UE 110a (acting as a Tx UE) may transmit data to UE 110b or UE 110c (acting as an Rx UE).”; [0030]: “In mode 1, resources may be assigned by a base station via dynamic scheduling or configured grant(s). In mode 2, a UE may need to perform resource sensing by monitoring and decoding all SCI transmitted in an SCI resource pool to obtain resource reservation information. By doing so, the UE may identify candidate resources that are available for communication. The UE may then, for example, randomly select required resources from the identified candidate resources.”; examiner notes that multiple SCI are sent || Ye Fig. 1 #112 first stage SCI and second stage SCI are sent; Fig. 3 #304 “receive first stage SCI and obtain the payload size of second stage SCI”; #306 “calculated reference second stage sci overhead…and second stage SCI payload size”).
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 7, Ye-Lei disclosed the method of claim 6, further comprising:
performing physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) monitoring in N PSFCH occasions related to the PSSCH, wherein the N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2 (Lei disclosed performing channel sensing and monitoring PSFCH for each symbol group in the slot; examiner notes that there is more than one monitoring occasion - see Lei [0032]: “The channel access procedure may be performed based on sensing (or energy detection) that evaluates the availability of a channel for performing transmissions. The basic unit for sensing is a sensing slot. In some examples, the sensing slot may have the duration of T.sub.sl=9us. When a BS or UE senses a channel during a sensing slot duration T.sub.sl, and determines that the detected energy for at least a certain period of time (e.g., 4us) within the sensing slot duration is less than an energy detection threshold (X.sub.thresis), the sensing slot duration T.sub.sl may be considered as idle and so the channel may be deemed as empty or clear or available in the sensing slot. Otherwise, the sensing slot duration T may be considered as busy, and so the channel may be deemed as occupied or non-available in the sensing slot.” | [0101]: “…Symbol group-based retransmission may thus be required. In the case that a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) is disabled, a UE (e.g., Tx UE) may retransmit the CBs included in the punctured symbol group(s). In the case that the PSFCH is enabled, the number of HARQ-ACK feedback bits for the slot is equal to the number of symbol groups and each of the HARQ-ACK feedback bits corresponds to a respective one of the symbol groups. In response to the reception of symbol group-based HARQ-ACK feedback, the UE may retransmit the CBs included in the symbol group(s) which is associated with a negative acknowledgement (NACK), as indicated by another UE (e.g., Rx UE).”; [0104]: “In some embodiments of the present disclosure, to further reduce the implementation complexity of a UE and the overhead of CBG-based or symbol group-based HARQ-ACK feedback, only the sidelink transmission in the initial slot is divided into one or more symbol groups as described above and is fed back with CBG-based or symbol group-based HARQ-ACK feedback bits. This is because the channel access procedure for the initial slot (e.g., slot j) is unpredictable and is not required for the remaining slot(s) (e.g., slot j+1) within the COT. That is, after a successful channel access procedure in an initial slot, a UE (e.g., Tx UE) may occupy the channel a certain COT. Sidelink transmission in the remaining slot(s) (e.g., slot j+1) of a Tx UE-initiated COT is always transmitted from the first symbol (e.g., symbol 0) of a slot. In this scenario, there may be no need to apply the symbol group mechanism to the remaining slot(s). Meanwhile, only TB-based HARQ-ACK feedback may be applied for the remaining slot(s). In this way, the implementation complexity of a UE and the feedback overhead can be greatly improved.”).
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 8, Ye-Lei disclosed the method of claim 7, wherein the N is configured or pre-configured for the first device (Lei disclosed performing channel sensing and monitoring PSFCH for each symbol group in the slot; examiner notes that the number of monitoring occasions are part of the configuration - see Lei [0032]: “The channel access procedure may be performed based on sensing (or energy detection) that evaluates the availability of a channel for performing transmissions. The basic unit for sensing is a sensing slot. In some examples, the sensing slot may have the duration of T.sub.sl=9us. When a BS or UE senses a channel during a sensing slot duration T.sub.sl, and determines that the detected energy for at least a certain period of time (e.g., 4us) within the sensing slot duration is less than an energy detection threshold (X.sub.thresis), the sensing slot duration T.sub.sl may be considered as idle and so the channel may be deemed as empty or clear or available in the sensing slot. Otherwise, the sensing slot duration T may be considered as busy, and so the channel may be deemed as occupied or non-available in the sensing slot.” | [0101]: “…Symbol group-based retransmission may thus be required. In the case that a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) is disabled, a UE (e.g., Tx UE) may retransmit the CBs included in the punctured symbol group(s). In the case that the PSFCH is enabled, the number of HARQ-ACK feedback bits for the slot is equal to the number of symbol groups and each of the HARQ-ACK feedback bits corresponds to a respective one of the symbol groups. In response to the reception of symbol group-based HARQ-ACK feedback, the UE may retransmit the CBs included in the symbol group(s) which is associated with a negative acknowledgement (NACK), as indicated by another UE (e.g., Rx UE).”; [0104]: “In some embodiments of the present disclosure, to further reduce the implementation complexity of a UE and the overhead of CBG-based or symbol group-based HARQ-ACK feedback, only the sidelink transmission in the initial slot is divided into one or more symbol groups as described above and is fed back with CBG-based or symbol group-based HARQ-ACK feedback bits. This is because the channel access procedure for the initial slot (e.g., slot j) is unpredictable and is not required for the remaining slot(s) (e.g., slot j+1) within the COT. That is, after a successful channel access procedure in an initial slot, a UE (e.g., Tx UE) may occupy the channel a certain COT. Sidelink transmission in the remaining slot(s) (e.g., slot j+1) of a Tx UE-initiated COT is always transmitted from the first symbol (e.g., symbol 0) of a slot. In this scenario, there may be no need to apply the symbol group mechanism to the remaining slot(s). Meanwhile, only TB-based HARQ-ACK feedback may be applied for the remaining slot(s). In this way, the implementation complexity of a UE and the feedback overhead can be greatly improved.”).
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 9, Ye-Lei disclosed the method of claim 7, further comprising:
receiving, from the second device, a PSFCH in a PSFCH occasion in which the second device succeeds in channel sensing among the N PSFCH occasions (Lei disclosed performing channel sensing and monitoring PSFCH for each symbol group in the slot - see Lei [0032]: “The channel access procedure may be performed based on sensing (or energy detection) that evaluates the availability of a channel for performing transmissions. The basic unit for sensing is a sensing slot. In some examples, the sensing slot may have the duration of T.sub.sl=9us. When a BS or UE senses a channel during a sensing slot duration T.sub.sl, and determines that the detected energy for at least a certain period of time (e.g., 4us) within the sensing slot duration is less than an energy detection threshold (X.sub.thresis), the sensing slot duration T.sub.sl may be considered as idle and so the channel may be deemed as empty or clear or available in the sensing slot. Otherwise, the sensing slot duration T may be considered as busy, and so the channel may be deemed as occupied or non-available in the sensing slot.” | [0101]: “…Symbol group-based retransmission may thus be required. In the case that a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) is disabled, a UE (e.g., Tx UE) may retransmit the CBs included in the punctured symbol group(s). In the case that the PSFCH is enabled, the number of HARQ-ACK feedback bits for the slot is equal to the number of symbol groups and each of the HARQ-ACK feedback bits corresponds to a respective one of the symbol groups. In response to the reception of symbol group-based HARQ-ACK feedback, the UE may retransmit the CBs included in the symbol group(s) which is associated with a negative acknowledgement (NACK), as indicated by another UE (e.g., Rx UE).”; [0104]: “In some embodiments of the present disclosure, to further reduce the implementation complexity of a UE and the overhead of CBG-based or symbol group-based HARQ-ACK feedback, only the sidelink transmission in the initial slot is divided into one or more symbol groups as described above and is fed back with CBG-based or symbol group-based HARQ-ACK feedback bits. This is because the channel access procedure for the initial slot (e.g., slot j) is unpredictable and is not required for the remaining slot(s) (e.g., slot j+1) within the COT. That is, after a successful channel access procedure in an initial slot, a UE (e.g., Tx UE) may occupy the channel a certain COT. Sidelink transmission in the remaining slot(s) (e.g., slot j+1) of a Tx UE-initiated COT is always transmitted from the first symbol (e.g., symbol 0) of a slot. In this scenario, there may be no need to apply the symbol group mechanism to the remaining slot(s). Meanwhile, only TB-based HARQ-ACK feedback may be applied for the remaining slot(s). In this way, the implementation complexity of a UE and the feedback overhead can be greatly improved.”).
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 10, Ye-Lei disclosed the method of claim 6, wherein, based on information included in the first SCI or the second SCI, a starting symbol of the SL transmission is determined among the plurality of candidate starting symbols (Lei disclosed determination of a plurality of candidate starting positions, determination of available symbols for TB transmission based on DMRS configuration among others, and communicating the determination in SCI - see Lei Fig. 1, [0029]: “In both mode 1 and mode 2, the sidelink transmission may involve a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and an associated physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), which is scheduled by the sidelink control information (SCI) carried on the PSCCH. The SCI and associated PSSCH may be transmitted from a transmitting UE (hereinafter referred to as “Tx UE”) to a receiving UE (hereinafter referred to as “Rx UE”) in a unicast manner, to a group of Rx UEs in a groupcast manner, or to Rx UEs within a range in a broadcast manner. For example, referring to FIG. 1, UE 110a (acting as a Tx UE) may transmit data to UE 110b or UE 110c (acting as an Rx UE).” | [0037]: “To improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, before performing a channel access procedure, a UE may prepare a plurality of PSCCHs/PSSCHs corresponding to a plurality of candidate starting positions in a slot. For example, the UE may prepare a first PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 0, a second PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 4 and a third PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 8. According to the results of the channel access procedure, the UE may select one of the plurality of prepared PSCCHs/PSSCHs. For example, the UE may select a specific PSCCH/PSSCH from the plurality of prepared PSCCHs/PSSCHs which is prepared with a starting position aligned with the current candidate starting position with successful channel access procedure; or the UE may select the specific PSCCH/PSSCH which is prepared with a starting position nearest to the next candidate starting position. The UE may then transmit the selected PSCCH/PSSCH started from the current candidate starting position or the next nearest candidate starting position.” | [0043]: “The following are some principles for determining the symbols available for transmitting a PSSCH. As mentioned above, since the first symbol (e.g., symbol 0) in a slot may be used for AGC tuning, the first symbol may not be counted in the symbols available for transmitting a PSSCH. When the last symbol (e.g., symbol 13) in a slot is left blank for a gap, the last symbol is not counted in the symbols available for transmitting the PSSCH. When the PSCCH and PSSCH are pure time division multiplexed in a slot, that is, there is no overlapping between the PSCCH and PSSCH in the frequency domain, when partitioning the symbol groups, the symbols for the PSCCH transmission are not counted in the symbols available for transmitting the PSSCH.”; [0044]: “Demodulation reference signal (DMRS) may be required for decoding a PSSCH. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, each symbol group in a slot may include at least one DMRS symbol. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, at least one of the symbol groups in a slot may not include any DMRS symbol. For example, the first symbol group of the one or more symbol groups in a slot includes a DMRS symbol and the remaining symbol groups of the one or more symbol groups do not include any DMRS symbol. In some other examples, both the first symbol group and the third symbol group include a DMRS symbol and the remaining symbol groups do not include any DMRS symbol.”).
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 11, Ye-Lei disclosed the method of claim 10, wherein, based on information related to a number of PSSCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS) symbols included in the first SCI, the starting symbol of the SL transmission is determined as a starting symbol that can support the number of PSSCH DMRS symbols among the plurality of candidate starting symbols (Lei disclosed determination of a plurality of candidate starting positions, determination of available symbols for TB transmission based on DMRS configuration among others, and communicating the determination in SCI - see Lei Fig. 1, [0029]: “In both mode 1 and mode 2, the sidelink transmission may involve a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and an associated physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), which is scheduled by the sidelink control information (SCI) carried on the PSCCH. The SCI and associated PSSCH may be transmitted from a transmitting UE (hereinafter referred to as “Tx UE”) to a receiving UE (hereinafter referred to as “Rx UE”) in a unicast manner, to a group of Rx UEs in a groupcast manner, or to Rx UEs within a range in a broadcast manner. For example, referring to FIG. 1, UE 110a (acting as a Tx UE) may transmit data to UE 110b or UE 110c (acting as an Rx UE).” | [0037]: “To improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, before performing a channel access procedure, a UE may prepare a plurality of PSCCHs/PSSCHs corresponding to a plurality of candidate starting positions in a slot. For example, the UE may prepare a first PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 0, a second PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 4 and a third PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 8. According to the results of the channel access procedure, the UE may select one of the plurality of prepared PSCCHs/PSSCHs. For example, the UE may select a specific PSCCH/PSSCH from the plurality of prepared PSCCHs/PSSCHs which is prepared with a starting position aligned with the current candidate starting position with successful channel access procedure; or the UE may select the specific PSCCH/PSSCH which is prepared with a starting position nearest to the next candidate starting position. The UE may then transmit the selected PSCCH/PSSCH started from the current candidate starting position or the next nearest candidate starting position.” | [0043]: “The following are some principles for determining the symbols available for transmitting a PSSCH. As mentioned above, since the first symbol (e.g., symbol 0) in a slot may be used for AGC tuning, the first symbol may not be counted in the symbols available for transmitting a PSSCH. When the last symbol (e.g., symbol 13) in a slot is left blank for a gap, the last symbol is not counted in the symbols available for transmitting the PSSCH. When the PSCCH and PSSCH are pure time division multiplexed in a slot, that is, there is no overlapping between the PSCCH and PSSCH in the frequency domain, when partitioning the symbol groups, the symbols for the PSCCH transmission are not counted in the symbols available for transmitting the PSSCH.”; [0044]: “Demodulation reference signal (DMRS) may be required for decoding a PSSCH. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, each symbol group in a slot may include at least one DMRS symbol. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, at least one of the symbol groups in a slot may not include any DMRS symbol. For example, the first symbol group of the one or more symbol groups in a slot includes a DMRS symbol and the remaining symbol groups of the one or more symbol groups do not include any DMRS symbol. In some other examples, both the first symbol group and the third symbol group include a DMRS symbol and the remaining symbol groups do not include any DMRS symbol.”).
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 12, Ye-Lei disclosed the method of claim 10, wherein, based on information related to a PSFCH overhead included in the second SCI, the starting symbol of the SL transmission is determined as a starting symbol that can support the PSFCH overhead among the plurality of candidate starting symbols (Lei disclosed determination of a plurality of candidate starting positions, determination of available symbols for TB transmission based on DMRS configuration among others, and communicating the determination in SCI - see Lei Fig. 1, [0029]: “In both mode 1 and mode 2, the sidelink transmission may involve a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and an associated physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), which is scheduled by the sidelink control information (SCI) carried on the PSCCH. The SCI and associated PSSCH may be transmitted from a transmitting UE (hereinafter referred to as “Tx UE”) to a receiving UE (hereinafter referred to as “Rx UE”) in a unicast manner, to a group of Rx UEs in a groupcast manner, or to Rx UEs within a range in a broadcast manner. For example, referring to FIG. 1, UE 110a (acting as a Tx UE) may transmit data to UE 110b or UE 110c (acting as an Rx UE).” | [0037]: “To improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, before performing a channel access procedure, a UE may prepare a plurality of PSCCHs/PSSCHs corresponding to a plurality of candidate starting positions in a slot. For example, the UE may prepare a first PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 0, a second PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 4 and a third PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 8. According to the results of the channel access procedure, the UE may select one of the plurality of prepared PSCCHs/PSSCHs. For example, the UE may select a specific PSCCH/PSSCH from the plurality of prepared PSCCHs/PSSCHs which is prepared with a starting position aligned with the current candidate starting position with successful channel access procedure; or the UE may select the specific PSCCH/PSSCH which is prepared with a starting position nearest to the next candidate starting position. The UE may then transmit the selected PSCCH/PSSCH started from the current candidate starting position or the next nearest candidate starting position.” | [0043]: “The following are some principles for determining the symbols available for transmitting a PSSCH. As mentioned above, since the first symbol (e.g., symbol 0) in a slot may be used for AGC tuning, the first symbol may not be counted in the symbols available for transmitting a PSSCH. When the last symbol (e.g., symbol 13) in a slot is left blank for a gap, the last symbol is not counted in the symbols available for transmitting the PSSCH. When the PSCCH and PSSCH are pure time division multiplexed in a slot, that is, there is no overlapping between the PSCCH and PSSCH in the frequency domain, when partitioning the symbol groups, the symbols for the PSCCH transmission are not counted in the symbols available for transmitting the PSSCH.”; [0044]: “Demodulation reference signal (DMRS) may be required for decoding a PSSCH. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, each symbol group in a slot may include at least one DMRS symbol. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, at least one of the symbol groups in a slot may not include any DMRS symbol. For example, the first symbol group of the one or more symbol groups in a slot includes a DMRS symbol and the remaining symbol groups of the one or more symbol groups do not include any DMRS symbol. In some other examples, both the first symbol group and the third symbol group include a DMRS symbol and the remaining symbol groups do not include any DMRS symbol.”).
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 13, Ye-Lei disclosed the method of claim 1, wherein a first energy detection threshold for channel sensing performed before the first starting symbol is configured differently from a second energy detection threshold for channel sensing performed before the second starting symbol (Examiner notes that the phrasing of this limitation is confusing | see Lei [0032]: “The channel access procedure may be performed based on sensing (or energy detection) that evaluates the availability of a channel for performing transmissions. The basic unit for sensing is a sensing slot. In some examples, the sensing slot may have the duration of T.sub.sl=9us. When a BS or UE senses a channel during a sensing slot duration T.sub.sl, and determines that the detected energy for at least a certain period of time (e.g., 4us) within the sensing slot duration is less than an energy detection threshold (X.sub.thresis), the sensing slot duration T.sub.sl may be considered as idle and so the channel may be deemed as empty or clear or available in the sensing slot. Otherwise, the sensing slot duration T may be considered as busy, and so the channel may be deemed as occupied or non-available in the sensing slot.”; [0037]: “To improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, before performing a channel access procedure, a UE may prepare a plurality of PSCCHs/PSSCHs corresponding to a plurality of candidate starting positions in a slot. For example, the UE may prepare a first PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 0, a second PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 4 and a third PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 8. According to the results of the channel access procedure, the UE may select one of the plurality of prepared PSCCHs/PSSCHs. For example, the UE may select a specific PSCCH/PSSCH from the plurality of prepared PSCCHs/PSSCHs which is prepared with a starting position aligned with the current candidate starting position with successful channel access procedure; or the UE may select the specific PSCCH/PSSCH which is prepared with a starting position nearest to the next candidate starting position. The UE may then transmit the selected PSCCH/PSSCH started from the current candidate starting position or the next nearest candidate starting position.”).
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 14, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 1 above. Examiner notes that claim 1 describes a method whereas claim 14 describes a first device performing a method. Ye disclosed, as recited in claim 14: A first device comprising:
at least one transceiver (see Ye Fig. 8 UE: #804 transceiver);
at least one processor (see Ye Fig. 8 UE: #802 processor); and
at least one memory connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, based on being executed by the at least one processor (see Ye Fig. 8 UE: #806 memory, #802 processor), cause the first device to perform operations comprising:
obtaining information related to a plurality of candidate starting symbols within a slot for sidelink (SL) transmission, wherein the plurality of candidate starting symbols include a first starting symbol and a second starting symbol (see Lei combination below);
obtaining a reference number of symbols (see Ye [0029], Fig. 1 #110: UE1 receives resource pool configuration; [0035], Fig. 2 #202 “receive a resource pool configuration…” including a variety of reference symbol information | [0072], Fig. 6 #602 “receive resource pool configuration…”) for transport block size (TBS) determination (Examiner notes that the phrase “for transport block size (TBS) determination” is intended use, however in Ye Fig. 1 #118, UE1 “determine transport block size” as the last step of a process beginning with the resource pool configuration);
determining, based on the reference number of symbols, a number of resource elements (REs) allocated for a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) within the slot (see Ye Fig. 2 #218, [0046]: calculating a number of resource elements for sidelink data based on multiple types of overhead that were calculated in steps #206-#216 based on reference symbol numbers | [0072], Fig. 6 #604: “calculate the number of resource elements for sidelink data”); and
determining a TBS based on the number of REs allocated for the PSSCH (see Ye [0033], Fig. 1 #118 “determine transport block size” occurs after #114 “calculate a number of resource elements for sidelink data”; examiner notes that #114 is illustrated in additional detail in Fig. 2 and Fig. 6).
With respect to the above four claim limitations (“obtaining…”, “obtaining…”, “determining…”, and “determining…”), examiner notes that there is no relationship between the first limitation and the second, third, and fourth limitations. Examiner recommends amending the claims to clarify how the candidate starting symbols (first limitation) are related to the transport block size determination (second, third, and fourth limitations).
Ye did not explicitly disclose “obtaining information related to a plurality of candidate starting symbols within a slot for sidelink (SL) transmission, wherein the plurality of candidate starting symbols include a first starting symbol and a second starting symbol”, however in a related art of sidelink communication, Lei disclosed:
Lei [0062]: “In order to provide a plurality of transmission opportunities for a sidelink transmission in a slot, a set of candidate starting positions for the sidelink transmission in the slot may be configured by RRC signaling, predefined, or implicitly determined based on the structure of the symbol groups…”;
Lei [0037]: “To improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, before performing a channel access procedure, a UE may prepare a plurality of PSCCHs/PSSCHs corresponding to a plurality of candidate starting positions in a slot. For example, the UE may prepare a first PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 0, a second PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 4 and a third PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 8. According to the results of the channel access procedure, the UE may select one of the plurality of prepared PSCCHs/PSSCHs.”
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 15, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 1 above. Examiner notes that claim 1 describes a method whereas claim 15 describes a processing device adapted to control a first device that performs a method. Ye disclosed, as recited in claim 15: A processing device adapted to control a first device, the processing device comprising:
at least one processor (see Ye Fig. 9 network node: #902 processor); and
at least one memory connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, based on being executed by the at least one processor (see Ye Fig. 9 network node: #906 memory, #902 processor), cause the first device to perform operations comprising:
obtaining information related to a plurality of candidate starting symbols within a slot for sidelink (SL) transmission, wherein the plurality of candidate starting symbols include a first starting symbol and a second starting symbol (see Lei combination below);
obtaining a reference number of symbols (see Ye [0029], Fig. 1 #110: UE1 receives resource pool configuration; [0035], Fig. 2 #202 “receive a resource pool configuration…” including a variety of reference symbol information | [0072], Fig. 6 #602 “receive resource pool configuration…”) for transport block size (TBS) determination (Examiner notes that the phrase “for transport block size (TBS) determination” is intended use, however in Ye Fig. 1 #118, UE1 “determine transport block size” as the last step of a process beginning with the resource pool configuration);
determining, based on the reference number of symbols, a number of resource elements (REs) allocated for a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) within the slot (see Ye Fig. 2 #218, [0046]: calculating a number of resource elements for sidelink data based on multiple types of overhead that were calculated in steps #206-#216 based on reference symbol numbers | [0072], Fig. 6 #604: “calculate the number of resource elements for sidelink data”); and
determining a TBS based on the number of REs allocated for the PSSCH (see Ye [0033], Fig. 1 #118 “determine transport block size” occurs after #114 “calculate a number of resource elements for sidelink data”; examiner notes that #114 is illustrated in additional detail in Fig. 2 and Fig. 6).
With respect to the above four claim limitations (“obtaining…”, “obtaining…”, “determining…”, and “determining…”), examiner notes that there is no relationship between the first limitation and the second, third, and fourth limitations. Examiner recommends amending the claims to clarify how the candidate starting symbols (first limitation) are related to the transport block size determination (second, third, and fourth limitations).
Ye did not explicitly disclose “obtaining information related to a plurality of candidate starting symbols within a slot for sidelink (SL) transmission, wherein the plurality of candidate starting symbols include a first starting symbol and a second starting symbol”, however in a related art of sidelink communication, Lei disclosed:
Lei [0062]: “In order to provide a plurality of transmission opportunities for a sidelink transmission in a slot, a set of candidate starting positions for the sidelink transmission in the slot may be configured by RRC signaling, predefined, or implicitly determined based on the structure of the symbol groups…”;
Lei [0037]: “To improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, before performing a channel access procedure, a UE may prepare a plurality of PSCCHs/PSSCHs corresponding to a plurality of candidate starting positions in a slot. For example, the UE may prepare a first PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 0, a second PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 4 and a third PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 8. According to the results of the channel access procedure, the UE may select one of the plurality of prepared PSCCHs/PSSCHs.”
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 21, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 2 above. Ye-Lei disclosed, as recited in claim 21: The first device of claim 14, wherein, based on the plurality of candidate starting symbols being allowed within the slot, the number of REs allocated for the PSSCH within the slot is determined based on the reference number of symbols (see Ye Fig. 2 #218, [0046]: calculating a number of resource elements for sidelink data based on multiple types of overhead that were calculated in steps #206-#216 based on reference symbol numbers | [0072], Fig. 6 #604 “calculate the number of resource elements for sidelink data” || Lei [0039]: “…for a sidelink transmission(s) over an unlicensed spectrum, all symbols in a slot available for transmitting a PSSCH may be divided into one or more symbol groups for PSSCH transmission. The number of symbol groups may be dependent on the total number of symbols available for transmitting the PSSCH in a slot…”; [0041]: “…the structure of the symbol groups in a slot may be configured by radio resource control (RRC) signaling. For example, the number of the symbol groups in a slot, the number of symbols in each symbol group, or both may be configured by RRC signaling. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the structure of the symbol groups in a slot may be predefined, for example, in standards. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a set of candidate starting positions for a sidelink transmission(s) in a slot may be determined based on the structure of the symbol groups. In some examples, the number of candidate starting positions in a slot may be equal to the number of symbol groups in a slot…”; [0043]: “The following are some principles for determining the symbols available for transmitting a PSSCH…When the PSCCH and PSSCH are pure time division multiplexed in a slot, that is, there is no overlapping between the PSCCH and PSSCH in the frequency domain, when partitioning the symbol groups, the symbols for the PSCCH transmission are not counted in the symbols available for transmitting the PSSCH.”).
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 22, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 3 above. Ye-Lei disclosed, as recited in claim 22: The first device of claim 14, wherein the reference number of symbols is configured or pre-configured for the first device (see Lei [0039]: “…for a sidelink transmission(s) over an unlicensed spectrum, all symbols in a slot available for transmitting a PSSCH may be divided into one or more symbol groups for PSSCH transmission. The number of symbol groups may be dependent on the total number of symbols available for transmitting the PSSCH in a slot…”; [0040]: “…In the case that a PSCCH and the associated PSSCH are multiplexed based on pure time division multiplexing (TDM), the PSCCH is not included in any of the symbol groups since the symbols for transmitting the PSCCH are not available for transmitting the PSSCH. In the case that a PSCCH and the associated PSSCH are multiplexed based on TDM and frequency division multiplexing (FDM), the symbols for transmitting the PSCCH are included in a symbol group (e.g., the first symbol group of the one or more symbol groups).”; [0041]: “…the structure of the symbol groups in a slot may be configured by radio resource control (RRC) signaling…In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the structure of the symbol groups in a slot may be predefined, for example, in standards…”; [0042]: “…The set of candidate starting positions may be configured by RRC signaling or predefined, for example, in standards. In some examples, the number of candidate starting positions in a slot may be equal to the number of symbol groups in a slot…”; [0043]: “The following are some principles for determining the symbols available for transmitting a PSSCH…When the PSCCH and PSSCH are pure time division multiplexed in a slot, that is, there is no overlapping between the PSCCH and PSSCH in the frequency domain, when partitioning the symbol groups, the symbols for the PSCCH transmission are not counted in the symbols available for transmitting the PSSCH.”; [0044]: “Demodulation reference signal (DMRS) may be required for decoding a PSSCH. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, each symbol group in a slot may include at least one DMRS symbol. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, at least one of the symbol groups in a slot may not include any DMRS symbol…”).
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 23, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 4 above. Ye-Lei disclosed, as recited in claim 23: The first device of claim 14, wherein a TBS related to first SL transmission based on the first starting symbol and a TBS related to second SL transmission based on the second starting symbol are determined to be the same (see Lei Fig. 6, [0070]: “Referring to FIG. 6, including the first symbol for AGC tuning, a UE may prepare a single PSCCH/PSSCH with 14 symbols without the last gap symbol. In the case that a channel access procedure for the first candidate starting position (symbol 0) of slot n succeeds, all 14 prepared symbols are transmitted from symbol 0 to symbol 13 on the practical symbols of the slot, as shown at 610 in FIG. 6. Otherwise, in the case that the channel access procedure for symbol 0 fails, the UE may perform a channel access procedure for the second candidate starting position (symbol 3) of slot n.”; [0071]: “In the case that the channel access procedure for symbol 3 succeeds, since there are a total of 11 symbols (from symbol 3 to symbol 13) available in the slot, the first 11 symbols of the 14 prepared symbols are transmitted from symbol 3 to symbol 13 on the practical symbols of the slot, as shown at 620 in FIG. 6…”).
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 24, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 5 above. Ye-Lei disclosed, as recited in claim 24: The first device of claim 14, wherein, based on that the first device fails to listen before talk (LBT) for the first starting symbol, the first device is allowed to use the second starting symbol (see Lei [0062]: “In order to provide a plurality of transmission opportunities for a sidelink transmission in a slot, a set of candidate starting positions for the sidelink transmission in the slot may be configured by RRC signaling, predefined, or implicitly determined based on the structure of the symbol groups. In a slot, a channel access procedure (e.g., LBT procedure) may be performed before the first candidate starting position of the set of candidate starting positions. When the channel access procedure succeeds, the sidelink transmission may start from the first candidate starting position in the slot. When the channel access procedure fails, another channel access procedure may be performed before the next (e.g., the second) candidate starting position of the set of candidate starting positions, until a channel access procedure succeeds at one of the set of candidate starting positions…”; Fig. 6, [0070]: “Referring to FIG. 6, including the first symbol for AGC tuning, a UE may prepare a single PSCCH/PSSCH with 14 symbols without the last gap symbol. In the case that a channel access procedure for the first candidate starting position (symbol 0) of slot n succeeds, all 14 prepared symbols are transmitted from symbol 0 to symbol 13 on the practical symbols of the slot, as shown at 610 in FIG. 6. Otherwise, in the case that the channel access procedure for symbol 0 fails, the UE may perform a channel access procedure for the second candidate starting position (symbol 3) of slot n.”).
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Regarding claim 25, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 13 above. Ye-Lei disclosed, as recited in claim 25: The first device of claim 14, wherein a first energy detection threshold for channel sensing performed before the first starting symbol is configured differently from a second energy detection threshold for channel sensing performed before the second starting symbol (Examiner notes that the phrasing of this limitation is confusing | see Lei [0032]: “The channel access procedure may be performed based on sensing (or energy detection) that evaluates the availability of a channel for performing transmissions. The basic unit for sensing is a sensing slot. In some examples, the sensing slot may have the duration of T.sub.sl=9us. When a BS or UE senses a channel during a sensing slot duration T.sub.sl, and determines that the detected energy for at least a certain period of time (e.g., 4us) within the sensing slot duration is less than an energy detection threshold (X.sub.thresis), the sensing slot duration T.sub.sl may be considered as idle and so the channel may be deemed as empty or clear or available in the sensing slot. Otherwise, the sensing slot duration T may be considered as busy, and so the channel may be deemed as occupied or non-available in the sensing slot.”; [0037]: “To improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, before performing a channel access procedure, a UE may prepare a plurality of PSCCHs/PSSCHs corresponding to a plurality of candidate starting positions in a slot. For example, the UE may prepare a first PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 0, a second PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 4 and a third PSCCH/PSSCH started from symbol 8. According to the results of the channel access procedure, the UE may select one of the plurality of prepared PSCCHs/PSSCHs. For example, the UE may select a specific PSCCH/PSSCH from the plurality of prepared PSCCHs/PSSCHs which is prepared with a starting position aligned with the current candidate starting position with successful channel access procedure; or the UE may select the specific PSCCH/PSSCH which is prepared with a starting position nearest to the next candidate starting position. The UE may then transmit the selected PSCCH/PSSCH started from the current candidate starting position or the next nearest candidate starting position.”).
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 Ye and Lei to further clarify additional details about sidelink communications. Incorporating Lei’s teachings regarding candidate starting symbols would improve the utilization of radio resources and increase transmission opportunities in sidelink communications (see Lei [0037]).
Conclusion
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/ANGELA WIDHALM DE RODRIGUEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2443
Prosecution Insights