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 .
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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/22/2024 and 8/3/2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because they are other than black and white line drawings. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it should not repeat information given in the title and the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims should be avoided. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 2 and 7-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2023/0199909 (hereinafter Mohammad Soleymani).
Regarding claims 1, 10 and 11. Mohammad Soleymani discloses a method comprising: receiving, by a first user equipment (UE), information for a first sidelink (SL) discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration from a second UE ([0160]: details the transceiver is configured to receive a sidelink control signal [e.g., via PSCCH and/or PSSCH] from exactly one other transceiver [e.g., unicast case] of the wireless communication system, the sidelink control signal comprising an information [e.g., at least one parameter of the discontinuous reception, DRX, mode of operation] describing a discontinuous reception, DRX, cycle used by the other transceiver); determining, by the first UE, an SL active time for monitoring sidelink control information (SCI) from the second UE based on the first SL DRX configuration ([0170]: details the transceiver is configured to align a wake-up time of the discontinuous reception, DRX, cycle with the [e.g., periodically or event driven] received control signal [e.g., comprising sidelink control information [e.g., first stage sidelink control information, SCI]]); and redetermining, by the first UE, the SL active time based on receiving information for a second SL DRX configuration from a base station ([0178]; [0402]-[0404]: details the transceiver is configured to configure [or adjust] at least one parameter of the discontinuous reception, DRX, cycle in dependence on a control information [e.g., DRX configuration] received from a base station of the wireless communication system [e.g., via a control signal]; A UE may have the following sources for DRX configuration:… Base station e.g. gNB. A UE may receive DRX configuration from a base station e.g. gNB) or receiving information for a third SL DRX configuration from the second UE ([0402]-[0405]: details A UE may have the following sources for DRX configuration:… Another UEs may relay the DRX configuration to the UE), wherein the SL active time is re-determined based on i) both the first SL DRX configuration and the second SL DRX configuration or ii) both the first SL DRX configuration and the third SL DRX configuration ([0194]: details the transceiver is configured to [e.g., fully or partially] adjust the at least one parameter [e.g., wake-up time and/or on-period] of consecutive sidelink discontinuous reception, DRX, cycles in dependence on at least two other sidelink discontinuous reception, DRX, cycles used by at least two other transceivers of the wireless communication system).
Regarding claim 2, Mohammad Soleymani discloses wherein the first SL active time is determined from the first SL DRX configuration, the second SL active time is determined based on the second SL DRX configuration or the third SL DRX configuration, and wherein the SL active time is re-determined as a sum of the first SL active time and the second SL active time ([0194]: details the transceiver is configured to [e.g., fully or partially] adjust the at least one parameter [e.g., wake-up time and/or on-period] of consecutive sidelink discontinuous reception, DRX, cycles in dependence on at least two other sidelink discontinuous reception, DRX, cycles used by at least two other transceivers of the wireless communication system).
Regarding claim 7, Mohammad Soleymani discloses wherein the third SL DRX configuration is determined based on an SL DRX configuration provided from the base station ([0402]-[0404]: details A UE may have the following sources for DRX configuration:… Base station e.g. gNB. A UE may receive DRX configuration from a base station e.g. gNB).
Regarding claim 8, Mohammad Soleymani discloses wherein the third SL DRX configuration is selected and determined from a list of one or more SL DRX configurations provided from the base station via an RRC (radio resource control) reconfiguration message ([0402]-[0405]: details A UE may have the following sources for DRX configuration:… Another SL linked UE (P-UE, V-UE acting as GL). A UE may receive the DRX configuration from another UE through PC5 interface. Another UEs may relay the DRX configuration to the UE).
Regarding claim 9, Mohammad Soleymani discloses wherein the third SL DRX configuration is selected from the list based on at least one of a quality of service (QOS) characteristic for an SL connection between the first UE and the second UE, a QoS characteristic for a connection with the base station, and a downlink (DL) DRX configuration of the first UE ([0291]-[0321]: details The following list of parameters are listed as example which impact the DRX cycle period (valid for both mode 1 and mode 2 UEs):… QoS or priority of UEs in proximity or w.r.t group members).
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.
Claims 3, 4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mohammad Soleymani in view of WO 2022/015015 (hereinafter LG1).
Regarding claim 3, Mohammad Soleymani does not explicitly teach wherein the information for the second SL DRX configuration is directly received from the base station through an RRC (radio resource control) reconfiguration message or indirectly received through the second UE
However, LG1 teaches wherein the information for the second SL DRX configuration is directly received from the base station through an RRC (radio resource control) reconfiguration message or indirectly received through the second UE ([0381]: details TX UE may receive RRC reconfiguration message including DL DRX configuration and/or SL DRX configuration from the network).
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 modified Mohammad Soleymani to incorporate the teachings of LG1 and include wherein the information for the second SL DRX configuration is directly received from the base station through an RRC (radio resource control) reconfiguration message or indirectly received through the second UE of LG1 with Mohammad Soleymani. Doing so would provide power-efficient sidelink reception (LG1, paragraph [0013]).
Regarding claim 4, Mohammad Soleymani does not explicitly teach wherein the RRC reconfiguration message includes a list of one or more SL DRX configurations, and the second SL DRX configuration is selected and determined from the list.
However, LG1 teaches wherein the RRC reconfiguration message includes a list of one or more SL DRX configurations, and the second SL DRX configuration is selected and determined from the list ([0400]: details RX UE may receive a list of SL DRX configurations).
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 modified Mohammad Soleymani to incorporate the teachings of LG1 and include wherein the RRC reconfiguration message includes a list of one or more SL DRX configurations, and the second SL DRX configuration is selected and determined from the list of LG1 with Mohammad Soleymani. Doing so would provide power-efficient sidelink reception (LG1, paragraph [0013]).
Regarding claim 6, Mohammad Soleymani does not explicitly teach transmitting, by the first UE, an RRC (radio resource control) reconfiguration complete message to the base station directly or indirectly through the second UE in response to the RRC reconfiguration message, wherein the RRC reconfiguration complete message includes information for the second SL DRX configuration.
However, LG1 teaches transmitting, by the first UE, an RRC (radio resource control) reconfiguration complete message to the base station directly or indirectly through the second UE in response to the RRC reconfiguration message, wherein the RRC reconfiguration complete message includes information for the second SL DRX configuration ([0381]: details TX UE may receive RRC reconfiguration message including DL DRX configuration and/or SL DRX configuration from the network).
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 modified Mohammad Soleymani to incorporate the teachings of LG1 and include transmitting, by the first UE, an RRC (radio resource control) reconfiguration complete message to the base station directly or indirectly through the second UE in response to the RRC reconfiguration message, wherein the RRC reconfiguration complete message includes information for the second SL DRX configuration of LG1 with Mohammad Soleymani. Doing so would provide power-efficient sidelink reception (LG1, paragraph [0013]).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mohammad Soleymani in view of LG1, further in view of WO 2022/065927 (hereinafter LG2; which is also published as EP 4 221 396 used as English language for mapping of the rejection).
Regarding claim 5, Mohammad Soleymani does not explicitly teach wherein the second SL DRX configuration is selected from the list based on at least one of a quality of service (QOS) characteristic for an SL connection between the first UE and the second UE, a QoS characteristic for a connection with the base station, and a downlink (DL) DRX configuration of the first UE.
However, LG2 teaches wherein the second SL DRX configuration is selected from the list based on at least one of a quality of service (QOS) characteristic for an SL connection between the first UE and the second UE, a QoS characteristic for a connection with the base station, and a downlink (DL) DRX configuration of the first UE ([0154]: details the base station may generate an SL resource pool based on the QoS requirement information (at least one of an L2 destination ID, a QoS profile, a PQI, a PFI, or PDB) or the Tx profile and the SL DRX configuration for the C2X service transferred from the LTE).
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 modified Mohammad Soleymani to incorporate the teachings of LG2 and include wherein the second SL DRX configuration is selected from the list based on at least one of a quality of service (QOS) characteristic for an SL connection between the first UE and the second UE, a QoS characteristic for a connection with the base station, and a downlink (DL) DRX configuration of the first UE of LG2 with Mohammad Soleymani. Doing so would efficiently perform SL communication (LG2, paragraph [0010]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Jeong (US 2024/0237139) details UE assistance information report for sidelink DRX.
Lin (US 2022/0353815) details DRX support in sidelink communication.
Balasubramanian (US 2021/0219377) details aligning DRX cycles using system level configuration.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jasper Kwoh whose telephone number is (408)918-7644. The examiner can normally be reached Tuesday through Friday, 10am to 4pm Pacific.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeffrey Rutkowski can be reached at (571) 270-1215. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JASPER KWOH/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2415
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