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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to a non-provisional application Number 17/924,374 filed on 11/10/2022. This application is a 35 USC §371 of International Application No. PCT/CN2021/090193 filed on 04/27/2021. A preliminary amendment filed with the application is entered. Claims 1-10 have been cancelled. Claims 11-12 are new. Claims 11-12 are pending.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). A certified copy of Patent Application No. CHINA 202010422101.3 filed on 05/18/2020, has been made of record.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement/s (IDS/s) submitted on 11/10/2022 and 06/21/2024 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement/s is/are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
(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 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (EP 3101989 A1; hereinafter “Kim”).
Regarding claim 11, Kim discloses a user equipment comprising: a processor; and a memory in electronic communication with the processor ([0067] and Fig. 11: UE with processor 1115 and controller 1120), wherein instructions stored in the memory are executable to:
in a case of being configured with a deactivate Secondary Cell Group (SCG), receive a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message to perform an SCG activation ([0029] Referring to FIG. 5A, MeNB 510 sends an initial request for SCG configuration to UE 505 in the rrcConnectionReconfiguration message for addition of a pSCell, in operation 520. The UE 505 activates its radio transceiver based on the rrcConnectionReconfiguration message and synchronizes the system clock to a downlink sync signal for the pScell, in operation 525.); and
upon receipt of the RRC reconfiguration message: initiate a random access procedure for the SCG activation ([0029] and Fig. 5A: As such, the UE 505 completes downlink sync configuration for the SCG of the SeNB 515. The UE 505 then performs a random access to the pSCell 515 on the RACH, in operation 530. In this regard, in contrast to Rel-10, contention based random access with a random preamble is possible. Alternatively, in a case the rrcConnectionReconfiguration received from the MeNB 510 includes a dedicated preamble delivered from the SeNB 515 of the SCG, non-contention based random access with the preamble is performed.); and
apply features including monitoring a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) on a Primary SCG Cell (PSCeII) of the SCG ([0028] In the existing Rel-11 carrier aggregation, there is no procedure where the UE performs random access to an SCell as shown in FIG. 5A, but only a procedure where a request is sent to the UE in a dedicated preamble on the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) to perform a random access procedure in a PCell or pSCell as shown in FIG. 5B.); and
transmitting a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) on the PSCeII ([0025] The SCellConfig message includes information about a specific serving cell that has PUCCH or Random Access Channel (RACH). The serving cell is called a primary Scell, pSCell, which is different from other serving cells (SCells) of the SeNB; [0027] FIG. 5A shows the MAC of a UE initiating a random access procedure in a pSCell of the SCG; Fig. 5A shows performing random access, which includes transmitting a PUCCH.).
Claim 12 is rejected on the same grounds set forth in the rejection of claim 11. Claim 12 recites similar features as in claim 11, from the perspective of a method.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Li et al. (US 20140192775 A1) – Perform random access to add a SeNB.
Yang et al. (US 20140198762 A1) – Controlling uplink transmission of a user equipment over a plurality of secondary cells.
Yang et al. (CN 106255123 A) – Forming a main cell group for each terminal.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHAILENDRA KUMAR whose telephone number is (571)270-1606. The examiner can normally be reached IFP M-F 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
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, Sujoy Kundu can be reached on 571-272-8586. 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.
/SHAILENDRA KUMAR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2471