Coordinated Device-to-Device Communications

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 . Allowable Subject Matter Claims 5-7 and 12-14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claims but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1-4 and 8-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Maden et al. (US 2013/0308551 A1, hereinafter “Maden”). Regarding claims 1 and 8, Maden discloses a method for wireless communication by a first wireless access point (see para. 0039, eNB; para. 0069, plurality of eNBs and plurality of UEs) that controls a first basic service set (BSS) (see para. 0039, eNB may be referred to BSS; see also Figure 2), the method comprising: transmitting to a first set of wireless stations including a first wireless station, a first wireless packet including an indication of a first subset of time and frequency resources of a first set of time and frequency resources (see Figure 5, para. 0052, time resource structure; see para. 0054, plurality of frequency symbols) allocated to the first BSS of a plurality of sets of time and frequency resources of a transmission opportunity owned by the first wireless access point, the first set of wireless stations being configured for direct wireless communications with other wireless stations, the first subset of time and frequency resources being allocated for use by the first set of wireless stations for the direct wireless communications with the other wireless stations, first (see para. 0089, subset of resources allocated for D2D communications; para. 0092-0093, each eNB is assigned subset of resources for D2D; para. 0069-0070, eNB allocating different set of resources); and refraining from transmitting wireless communications in the first subset of time and frequency resources (see para. 0042, communicate with base station or peer-to-peer communication with different subset of resources; para. 0069-0070, different set of resources). Regarding claims 2 and 9, Maden discloses wherein: the frequency resources in each set of time and frequency resources of the plurality of sets of time and frequency resources overlap with the frequency resources in other sets of time and frequency resources (see para. 0041, cellular regions that overlap, para. 0009, shared resources; para. 0047, time and frequency resources); the time resources in each set of time and frequency resources of the plurality of sets of time and frequency resources do not overlap with any of the time resources in the other sets of time and frequency resources (see para. 0069-0070, different subset of resources); the time resources in the set of time and frequency resources allocated to the first BSS include a plurality of time slots and the first subset of time and frequency resources includes one or more of the plurality of time slots (see para. 0047, plurality of time slots) and the indication of the first subset of time and frequency resources includes an indication of a time slot schedule for the plurality of time slots (see para. 0072, indicating scheduling of agreed upon resources for shared channel). Regarding claims 3 and 10, Maden discloses wherein, during at least one time slot of the one or more time slots included in the first subset of time and frequency resources, the first wireless station is permitted to transmit or receive direct wireless communications to or from the other wireless stations associated with one or more other BSSs (see Figure 10, para. 0069-0070, UE1 1002 may determine a set of resources are available for communications with another device UE2 1006). Regarding claims 4 and 11, Maden discloses wherein the first wireless packet includes a trigger frame that indicates the time slot schedule and that initiates direct wireless communications by the first wireless station (see Figure 5, para. 0021, time structure for peer-to-peer communication between wireless devices). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Sartori et al. (US 2015/0271810) disclose subset of resources allocated for UE D2D communications. Bagheri et al. (US2016/0044653 A1) disclose resources allocated for cellular and resources allocated for D2D (see para. 0043). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMAD S ANWAR whose telephone number is (571)270-5641. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6-5 EST. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Asad Nawaz can be reached at 571-272-3988. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. MOHAMMAD S. ANWAR Primary Examiner Art Unit 2463 /MOHAMMAD S ANWAR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2463