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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. CN 202210322647.8, filed on 29 March 2022 AD.
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, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wu et al. (US 20230328828 A1) or Wu.
Claim 1
A method for determining a radio link failure, comprising:
communicating, by a first terminal, with a second terminal through at least one relay terminal;
(See Wu paragraph 0088, ...a UE (e.g., UE 101a illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) establishes a PC5 RRC connection of a link between a UE and a relay UE (e.g., relay UE 103 as illustrated and shown in FIG. 1). The embodiments of FIG. 7 assume that a PC5 RRC connection of a link between the relay UE and another UE (e.g., UE 101b illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) has been established.)
and determining, by the first terminal in a case that a first event is satisfied, that a radio link failure (RLF) occurs in a relay communication radio link between the first terminal and the second terminal, wherein the first event comprises:
(See Wu paragraph 0101, ...after the UE receives the failure notification associated with the sidelink failure in the link between the relay UE and the abovementioned another UE, the UE suspends a transmission of data terminated in the abovementioned another UE.)
Shows the first UE or terminal suspending transmitting data to the second UE or second terminal upon receiving the radio link failure notification from the relay UE
receiving first indication information transmitted by a third terminal, the first indication information being used to indicate that the radio link failure (RLF) occurs in the relay communication radio link, and the third terminal is a terminal in the at least one relay terminal.
(See Wu paragraphs 0094-0095, ...the failure notification received from the relay UE is one of: [0095] (1) A sidelink RLF notification associated with the link between the relay UE and the abovementioned another UE.)
Claim 2
The method for determining a radio link failure according to claim 1, wherein after the determining that a radio link failure (RLF) occurs in a relay communication radio link between the first terminal and the second terminal, the method further comprises:
performing, by the first terminal, at least one of the following operations:
releasing a resource configuration related to the relay communication radio link between the first terminal and the second terminal;
(See Wu paragraph 0104, After stopping receiving data from the relay UE, the UE may release the PC5 RRC connection between the UE and the relay UE.)
…transmitting second indication information to an upper layer entity of the first terminal, the second indication information being used to indicate that the RLF occurs in the relay communication radio link between the first terminal and the second terminal; or
(See Wu paragraph 0104, ...an AS layer of the UE may transmit an indication to a PC5-S layer of the UE, to indicate that the UE has stopped receiving the data from the relay UE.)
transmitting third indication information to a serving base station of the first terminal, the third indication information being used to indicate that the RLF occurs in the relay communication radio link between the first terminal and the second terminal.
(See Wu paragraph 0105, ...if the UE is in coverage of the BS and if the UE detects the sidelink failure in the link between the UE and the relay UE or detects the failure in the RRC relayed connection of the link between the UE and the abovementioned another UE, the UE reports failure information to a BS.)
Claim 4
The method for determining a radio link failure according to claim 1, wherein the first indication information comprises at least one of the following: a failure cause corresponding to the RLF;
(See Wu paragraph 0094, ...the sidelink RLF notification includes a cause. The cause is at least one of: reaching a maximum number of RLC retransmission;)
or identification information corresponding to the RLF.
(See Wu paragraph 0021, ...the failure information includes a set of identity information regarding two terminated UEs of a link associated with the failure cause.)
Claim 6
A method for determining a radio link failure, comprising:
transmitting, by a third terminal, first indication information to a first terminal in a case that a radio link failure (RLF) occurs in a radio link between a third terminal and a next-hop terminal of the third terminal,
(See Wu paragraph 0025, The method may be performed by a relay UE. The method includes: establishing a PC5 radio resource control (RRC) connection of a link between a UE and the relay UE; establishing a RRC connection of a link between the relay UE and another UE; and transmitting a failure notification to the UE.)
Shows the relay UE transmitting a failure notification to a first UE
(See Wu paragraph 0026, ...in the method performed by the relay UE, the failure notification transmitted from the relay UE is one of: a sidelink RLF notification associated with the link between the relay UE and the abovementioned another UE;)
Shows the radio link failure or RLF between the relay UE or third terminal and a next-hop terminal or the abovementioned another UE
wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that the RLF occurs in a relay communication radio link between the first terminal and a second terminal;
(See Wu paragraph 0026, ...in the method performed by the relay UE, the failure notification transmitted from the relay UE is one of: a sidelink RLF notification associated with the link between the relay UE and the abovementioned another UE;)
Shows the radio link failure or RLF between the relay UE or third terminal and the abovementioned another UE or a second terminal
(See Wu paragraph 0025, The method may be performed by a relay UE. The method includes: establishing a PC5 radio resource control (RRC) connection of a link between a UE and the relay UE; establishing a RRC connection of a link between the relay UE and another UE; and transmitting a failure notification to the UE.)
Shows the relay UE relays information between a UE and another UE
Shows the indication indicates the RLF occurring in the relay communication link between a UE and another UE
the first terminal communicates with the second terminal through at least one relay terminal; and
the third terminal is a terminal in the at least one relay terminal.
(See Wu paragraph 0088, ...a UE (e.g., UE 101a illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) establishes a PC5 RRC connection of a link between a UE and a relay UE (e.g., relay UE 103 as illustrated and shown in FIG. 1). The embodiments of FIG. 7 assume that a PC5 RRC connection of a link between the relay UE and another UE (e.g., UE 101b illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) has been established.)
Claim 8
Wu teaches limitations of claim 8 as stated in claim 4.
Claim 10
A first terminal,
comprising a processor and a memory,
(See Wu paragraph 0202, …at least one processor 1008…)
Shows the processor
(See Wu paragraph 0203, …the apparatus 1000 may further include an input device, a memory, and/or other components.)
Shows the memory
the memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor,
wherein the program or the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the first terminal to perform:
(See Wu paragraph 0205, …the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory…)
Shows the memory stores software executed by a processor
communicating with a second terminal through at least one relay terminal; and
(See Wu paragraph 0088, ...a UE (e.g., UE 101a illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) establishes a PC5 RRC connection of a link between a UE and a relay UE (e.g., relay UE 103 as illustrated and shown in FIG. 1). The embodiments of FIG. 7 assume that a PC5 RRC connection of a link between the relay UE and another UE (e.g., UE 101b illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) has been established.)
determining, in a case that a first event is satisfied, that a radio link failure (RLF) occurs in a relay communication radio link between the first terminal and the second terminal, wherein the first event comprises:
(See Wu paragraph 0101, ...after the UE receives the failure notification associated with the sidelink failure in the link between the relay UE and the abovementioned another UE, the UE suspends a transmission of data terminated in the abovementioned another UE.)
Shows the first UE or terminal suspending transmitting data to the second UE or second terminal upon receiving the radio link failure notification from the relay UE
receiving first indication information transmitted by a third terminal, the first indication information being used to indicate that the radio link failure (RLF) occurs in the relay communication radio link, and the third terminal is a terminal in the at least one relay terminal.
(See Wu paragraphs 0094-0095, ...the failure notification received from the relay UE is one of: [0095] (1) A sidelink RLF notification associated with the link between the relay UE and the abovementioned another UE.)
Claim 11
Wu teaches limitations of claim 11 as stated in claim 2.
Claim 14
Wu teaches limitations of claim 14 as stated in claim 2.
Claim 15
A third terminal, comprising a processor and a memory,
(See Wu paragraph 0202, …at least one processor 1008…)
Shows the processor
(See Wu paragraph 0203, …the apparatus 1000 may further include an input device, a memory, and/or other components.)
Shows the memory
the memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, the program or the instructions implement the method
(See Wu paragraph 0205, …the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory…)
Shows the memory stores software executed by a processor
Wu teaches limitations of claim 15 as stated in claim 6.
Claim 17
Wu teaches limitations of claim 17 as stated in claim 4.
Claim 19
A non-transitory readable storage medium, the non-transitory readable storage medium storing a program or instructions thereon,
(See Wu paragraph 0024, …a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions; )
the program or the instructions implement the method
(See Wu paragraph 0024, …the computer-executable instructions cause the processor to implement any of the above-mentioned method performed by a UE.)
Wu teaches limitations of claim 19 as stated in claim 1.
Claim 20
A non-transitory readable storage medium, the non-transitory readable storage medium storing a program or instructions thereon,
(See Wu paragraph 0024, …a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions; )
the program or the instructions implement the method
(See Wu paragraph 0024, …the computer-executable instructions cause the processor to implement any of the above-mentioned method performed by a UE.)
Wu teaches limitations of claim 20 as stated in claim 6.
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, 7, 12, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. (US 20230328828 A1) or Wu in view of Li et al. (US 20240381205 A1) or Li.
Claim 3
Wu fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 3. However, Li, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
The method for determining a radio link failure according to claim 1, wherein the first indication information is carried in at least one of the following:
a sidelink relay adaptation layer protocol (SRAP) control protocol data unit (PDU); or
a PC5 RRC message.
(See Li paragraph 0009, ...when Uu RLF occurs in the relay UE, a PC5-RRC (radio resource control) message may be used to transmit an indication to the remote UE, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of this scenario;)
Shows the PC5-RRC message used to transmit a RLF failure indication
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling data of the claimed invention to combine the a first terminal communicating with a second terminal through at least one relay terminal, receiving a first indication information transmitted by a third terminal with the third terminal being a relay terminal and the first indication indicating a radio link failure or RLF occurring in the relay communication link, and if the first terminal receives the indication from the relay terminal, the first terminal determining a RLF occurring in relay communication radio link between the first and second terminal as disclosed by Wu with the first indication carried by a PC5 radio resource control or RRC message as disclosed by Li to increase the efficiency of the system (i.e. to increase the probability of the first terminal receiving the indication from the relay terminal).
Claim 7
Wu fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 7. However, Li, in the same field of endeavor, teaches limitations of claim 7 as stated in claim 3. The motivation to combine Wu and Li in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 3.
Claim 12
Wu fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 12. However, Li, in the same field of endeavor, teaches limitations of claim 12 as stated in claim 3. The motivation to combine Wu and Li in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 3.
Claim 16
Wu fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 12. However, Li, in the same field of endeavor, teaches limitations of claim 12 as stated in claim 3. The motivation to combine Wu and Li in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 3.
Claims 5, 9, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. (US 20230328828 A1) or Wu in view of Chen et al. (US 20240080658 A1) or Chen.
Claim 5
Wu teaches,
The method for determining a radio link failure according to claim 4, wherein the identification information corresponding to the RLF comprises at least one of the following:
(See Wu paragraph 0021, ...the failure information includes a set of identity information regarding two terminated UEs of a link associated with the failure cause.)
Shows the identity information for the two UEs associated with the failure
However, Wu fails to explicitly teach,
at least one Destination layer 2 L2 identifier (ID);…
Nevertheless, Chen, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
at least one Destination layer 2 L2 identifier (ID);…
(See Chen paragraph 0054, ...the relay UE reports the destination L2 ID 802 of the remote UE to the basestation via a SidelinkUEInformation message, the relay UE may indicate which destination L2 ID is for L2 remote UE.)
Shows the destination L2 ID of a remote UE
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling data of the claimed invention to combine the a first terminal communicating with a second terminal through at least one relay terminal, receiving a first indication information transmitted by a third terminal with the third terminal being a relay terminal and the first indication indicating a radio link failure or RLF occurring in the relay communication link, and if the first terminal receives the indication from the relay terminal, the first terminal determining a RLF occurring in relay communication radio link between the first and second terminal as disclosed by Wu with the identification information corresponding to the RLF consisting of a destination L2 ID as disclosed by Chen to increase the efficiency of the system (i.e. to increase the accuracy of correctly identifying the UEs affected by the RLF).
Claim 9
Wu teaches limitations of claim 9 as stated in claim 5. However, Wu fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 9 as stated in claim 5. Nevertheless, Li, in the same field of endeavor, teaches limitations of claim 9 as stated in claim 5. The motivation to combine Wu and Li in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 5.
Claim 18
Wu teaches limitations of claim 18 as stated in claim 5. However, Wu fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 18 as stated in claim 5. Nevertheless, Li, in the same field of endeavor, teaches limitations of claim 18 as stated in claim 5. The motivation to combine Wu and Li in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 5.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Fujishiro (US 20230022611 A1) teaches a remote UE, a relay UE, and a base station communicating. The relay UE transmits a notification to the remote UE if a radio link failure occurs between the remote UE, the relay UE, or the base station.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMUEL ROBERGE BETTENDORF whose telephone number is (571)272-4352. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri, 8:30a.m.-5:00p.m..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Edan Orgad can be reached at 571-272-7884. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SAMUEL ROBERGE BETTENDORF/Examiner, Art Unit 2414
/EDAN ORGAD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2414
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