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 .
Applicant’s RCE filed 6/9/26 is acknowledged.
Claim 1, 2, 7, 8, 13, 14, and 19 are amended.
Claims 1-4, 6-10, 12-16, 18-20, and 22-24 are pending.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 6/9/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the independent claim(s) (pages 8-13) in a reply filed 6/12/2026 have been considered but are moot because the arguments are based on newly changed limitations in the amendment and new ground of rejections using newly introduced references or a newly introduced portion of an existing reference are applied in the current rejection.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 6, 13, 18, 22, and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi et al. US 20220225224 (hereinafter “Shi”) in view of Abraham US 20230075568 (hereinafter “Abraham”)
As to claim 1 and 13 (claim 1 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 13):
Shi discloses:
A communication method, comprising: sending a configuration information set to a terminal device, wherein the configuration information set comprises at least one piece of configuration information, the configuration information comprises transmission configuration information and frequency domain information being carrier information, and the transmission configuration information is associated with the frequency domain information; (“FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating implementation of reporting cell network information according to an embodiment. In this embodiment, the UE receives the network configuration information from a system message or an RRC release message. The network configuration information includes frequency configuration information and time configuration information.”, Shi [0157])(Examiner’s Note: “carrier information” maps to “frequency configuration information”)
Shi as described above does not explicitly teach:
However, Abraham further teaches receiving assistance information from the terminal which includes:
receiving assistance information of the terminal device, wherein the assistance information indicates a transmission configuration of the terminal device and is used to determine a target frequency domain resource from the configuration information set; (“In some embodiments, the UE 10 is configured to define and transmit assistance information to the network node for defining the one or more carriers for reallocation for monitoring communications over the second subscription. This may be an additional block preceding block 200.”, Abraham [0039])(“The assistance information (which may herewith refer also to the capability information) may comprise an indication of at least one frequency associated with the second subscription. The assistance information may comprise one or more of: [0044] one or more frequencies supported by the UE for the second subscription (and associated SIM); [0045] one or more frequency camped by the UE for the second subscription; and [0046] one or more preferred frequencies for camping for the second subscription.”, Abraham [0043])
determining the target frequency domain resource based on the configuration information set and the assistance information, wherein the determining the target frequency domain resource comprises: determining, based on an association between the transmission configuration information and the frequency domain information that are in the configuration information set, the target frequency domain resource corresponding to the assistance information; (“The assistance information (which may herewith refer also to the capability information) may comprise an indication of at least one frequency associated with the second subscription. The assistance information may comprise one or more of: [0044] one or more frequencies supported by the UE for the second subscription (and associated SIM); [0045] one or more frequency camped by the UE for the second subscription; and [0046] one or more preferred frequencies for camping for the second subscription.”, Abraham [0043]) (“For example, the network node may apply the information about the current camped frequency for the second subscription (and SIM) and select a carrier which causes minimum device interference. In another example, the network node may in block 320 decide to use the most preferred carrier by the UE from the provided assistance information, or pick a carrier randomly from the UE provided list.”, Abraham [0047]) (“The assistance information may comprise timing information on or affecting the reallocation of the first carrier. The UE may define such timing information based on scheduling information it has available for upcoming communications over the second subscription. For example, the assistance information may indicate duration of the tune-away (for communications via the second subscription), frequency of the tune-away (e.g. how many times the tune-away may occur per minute), and/or other timing information for the tune-away.”, Abraham [0048])
and sending a paging message to the terminal device by using the target frequency domain resource. (“For example, the UE may thus be configured to tune-away the first carrier to receive paging messages while the RRC state for the second subscription is idle or inactive. Once the paging is checked, the UE may automatically change the first carrier for the first subscription, without requiring any network trigger or action.”, Abraham [0050])
Shi and Abraham are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include receiving assistance information from the terminal as described in Abraham into Shi. By modifying the method to include receiving assistance information from the terminal as taught by Abraham, the benefits of improved network performance (Abraham [0028] and Shi [0225]) are achieved.
As to claim 6 and 18 (claim 6 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 18):
Shi discloses:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is in a radio resource control (RRC) idle mode (“FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating implementation of reporting cell network information according to an embodiment. In this embodiment, the UE is in an RRC_IDLE state.”, Shi [0090])
As to claim 22 and 23 (claim 22 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 23):
Shi discloses:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the configuration information set is sent to the terminal device via a system message. (“FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating implementation of reporting cell network information according to an embodiment. In this embodiment, the UE receives the network configuration information from a system message or an RRC release message. The network configuration information includes frequency configuration information and time configuration information.”, Shi [0157])
Claim(s) 2 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi in view of Abraham, as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Alfarhan et al. (US 20230088597; hereinafter “Alfarhan”)
As to claim 2 and 14 (claim 2 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 14)
The combination of Shi and Abraham as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmission configuration information comprises at least one of the following: a DRX cycle threshold
However, Alfarhan further teaches transmission configuration information that includes DRX cycle threshold which includes:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmission configuration information comprises at least one of the following: a coverage enhancement level or a DRX cycle threshold (“The WTRU may determine and/or receive (e.g., from a network device) configuration information, which may include, for example, one or more of the following: the first (e.g., long) DRX cycle, the second (e.g., short) DRX cycle, a timing associated with CSI-RS measurement in the first DRX cycle, a timing associated with CSI-RS measurement in the second DRX cycle, the first DRX cycle switch threshold, the first (e.g., BFD) threshold, the second (e.g., non-DRX) threshold, the second DRX cycle switch threshold, and/or the like.”, Alfarhan [0155])
Shi, Alfarhan, and Abraham are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include transmission configuration information that includes DRX cycle threshold as described in Alfarhan into Shi as modified by Abraham. By modifying the method to include transmission configuration information that includes DRX cycle threshold as taught by Alfarhan, the benefits of improved network performance (Abraham [0028] and Shi [0225]) and improved power efficiency (Alfarhan [0071]) are achieved.
Claim(s) 3 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi in view of Abraham, as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Kim et al. (US 20220159568 A1; hereinafter “Kim”)
As to claim 3 and 15 (claim 3 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 15):
The combination of Shi and Abraham as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the assistance information further comprises a DRX cycle
However, Kim further teaches DRX cycle in an assistance information which includes:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the assistance information further comprises a DRX cycle (“The UE assistance information may include, for example, one or at least one combination of the following parameters; [0161] DRX configuration information preferred by the UE [0162] For example, DRX related timer (onDurationTimer, InactivityTimer, HARQ-RTT-TimerDL, HARQ-RTT-TimerUL, RetransmissionTimerDL, RetransmissionTimerUL, DRX cycle and start offset)”, Kim [0152])
Shi, Abraham, and Kim are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Shi and Abraham as applied to claim 1, based on the above teaching from Kim, to derive the limitations of claim 3, because the modification uses prior art elements according to their established functions to produce a predictable result that is equivalent to the claimed limitations. This method of improving was well within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art, who would have been motivated to perform this modification by providing assistance information including DRX cycle to the base station in order to enable the base station to provide targeted communications to the terminal.
Claim(s) 4 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi in view of Abraham, as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Berggren et al. (WO 2020102159 A1; hereinafter “Berggren”).
As to claim 4 and 16 (claim 4 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 16):
The combination of Shi and Abraham as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving a second message from a core network device, wherein the second message comprises the assistance information
However, Berggen further teaches receiving assistance information as a second message which includes:
The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving a second message from a core network device, wherein the second message comprises the assistance information (“Initially, base station 74 and UE 72 may perform a RRC connection reconfiguration 76. Subsequently, the base station 74 may optionally transmit an assistance information configuration signal 78, which may contain configuration information as described above. The UE 72 may transmit an assistance information message 82. Message 82 may be optionally triggered by a satisfied condition 80 (resulting in a second message with assistance information). The condition 80 and/or the content of message 82 may subject to the configuration information include in signal 78. Upon receiving message 82, the base station 74 transmits an assistance information response signal 84. As described above, signal 84 may also include configuration information similar to signal 78. As shown in FIG. 5, upon satisfaction of condition 86, the UE 72 may transmit an assistance information repeat request 88. In accordance with another aspect, the network may suspend and resume assistance information transmissions. For instance, the base station 74 may transmit a stop signal 90, which causes the UE 72 to suspend transmissions 92. The base station 74 may transmit a restart signal 94 to resume transmissions by the UE 72. For instance, after receiving the restart signal 94, the UE 72 may transmit an assistance information message 98 (= third message with assistance information) upon optional satisfaction of condition 96”, Berggen [P. 26, Line 27 to P. 27, Line 11; and Fig. 5])
Shi, Abraham, and Berggen are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Shi and Abraham as applied to claim 1, based on the above teaching from Berggren, to derive the limitations of claim 4, because the modification uses prior art elements according to their established functions to produce a predictable result that is equivalent to the claimed limitations. This method of improving was well within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art, who would have been motivated to perform this modification in order to repeat assistance information when needed.
Claim(s) 7, 12, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi et al. US 20220225224 (hereinafter “Shi”) in view of Abraham US 20230075568 (hereinafter “Abraham”) and further in view of Rico Alvarino et al. (US 20200351844 A1; hereinafter “Rico Alvarino”).
As to claim 7 and 19 (claim 7 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 19):
Shi discloses:
An apparatus, comprising: one or more processors; and one or more non-transitory computer readable memories coupled to the one or more processors and storing programming to be executed by the one or more processors (“An embodiment of the present application further provides a user equipment, including:[0034] one or more processors; and [0035] a storage device configured to store one or more programs”, Shi [0033])
A communication method, wherein the method comprises: receiving a configuration information set from a first network device, wherein the configuration information set comprises at least one piece of configuration information, the configuration information comprises transmission configuration information and frequency domain information being carrier information, and the transmission configuration information is associated with the frequency domain information (“FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating implementation of reporting cell network information according to an embodiment. In this embodiment, the UE receives the network configuration information from a system message or an RRC release message. The network configuration information includes frequency configuration information and time configuration information.”, Shi [0157])
determining target frequency domain resource based on the configuration information set and assistance information, (“In this embodiment, the UE receives the measurement control information sent from the service node, determines whether to report the cell assistance information according to the received measurement control information, and reports, when determining that the cell assistance information needs to be reported, the measurement report to the service node. The measurement report contains the cell assistance information; [0203] In an embodiment, reporting the assistance information to the service node includes: reporting the assistance information for a target cell satisfying a measurement event configured for the service node; [0210] In an embodiment, the cell assistance information capability is in information granularity of at least one of:…[0212] frequency band, which indicates that the user equipment supports the cell assistance information function in this frequency band; and [0213] band combination, which indicates that the user equipment, when operating in a frequency band of the band combination, supports the cell assistance information function on the frequency band in the band combination; [0214] frequency band characteristic, which indicates that the user equipment, when operating in the frequency band with the frequency band characteristic, supports the cell assistance information function.”, Shi [0197])
Shi as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein each piece of frequency domain information in the configuration information is associated with a corresponding quantity of repeated transmission times;
wherein the assistance information indicates a transmission configuration of the terminal device, and the determining the target frequency domain resource comprises: determining, based on an association between the transmission configuration information and the frequency domain information that are in the configuration information set, the target frequency domain resource corresponding to the assistance information; and receiving a paging message from the first network device by using the target frequency domain resource.
However, Abraham further teaches receiving assistance information from the terminal which includes:
wherein the assistance information indicates a transmission configuration of the terminal device, and the determining the target frequency domain resource comprises: determining, based on an association between the transmission configuration information and the frequency domain information that are in the configuration information set, the target frequency domain resource corresponding to the assistance information; (“In some embodiments, the UE 10 is configured to define and transmit assistance information to the network node for defining the one or more carriers for reallocation for monitoring communications over the second subscription. This may be an additional block preceding block 200.”, Abraham [0039])(“The assistance information (which may herewith refer also to the capability information) may comprise an indication of at least one frequency associated with the second subscription. The assistance information may comprise one or more of: [0044] one or more frequencies supported by the UE for the second subscription (and associated SIM); [0045] one or more frequency camped by the UE for the second subscription; and [0046] one or more preferred frequencies for camping for the second subscription.”, Abraham [0043]) (“The assistance information (which may herewith refer also to the capability information) may comprise an indication of at least one frequency associated with the second subscription. The assistance information may comprise one or more of: [0044] one or more frequencies supported by the UE for the second subscription (and associated SIM); [0045] one or more frequency camped by the UE for the second subscription; and [0046] one or more preferred frequencies for camping for the second subscription.”, Abraham [0043]) (“For example, the network node may apply the information about the current camped frequency for the second subscription (and SIM) and select a carrier which causes minimum device interference. In another example, the network node may in block 320 decide to use the most preferred carrier by the UE from the provided assistance information, or pick a carrier randomly from the UE provided list.”, Abraham [0047]) (“The assistance information may comprise timing information on or affecting the reallocation of the first carrier. The UE may define such timing information based on scheduling information it has available for upcoming communications over the second subscription. For example, the assistance information may indicate duration of the tune-away (for communications via the second subscription), frequency of the tune-away (e.g. how many times the tune-away may occur per minute), and/or other timing information for the tune-away.”, Abraham [0048])
and receiving a paging message from the first network device by using the target frequency domain resource. (“For example, the UE may thus be configured to tune-away the first carrier to receive paging messages while the RRC state for the second subscription is idle or inactive. Once the paging is checked, the UE may automatically change the first carrier for the first subscription, without requiring any network trigger or action.”, Abraham [0050])
Shi and Abraham are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include receiving assistance information from the terminal as described in Abraham into Shi. By modifying the method to include receiving assistance information from the terminal as taught by Abraham, the benefits of improved network performance (Abraham [0028] and Shi [0225]) are achieved.
The combination of Shi and Abraham as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein each piece of frequency domain information in the configuration information is associated with a corresponding quantity of repeated transmission times;
However, Rico Alvarino further teaches frequency domain information that is associated with quantity of repeated transmission times which includes:
wherein each piece of frequency domain information in the configuration information is associated with a corresponding quantity of repeated transmission times; (“In some examples, the uplink transmission manager 1115 may receive the first uplink transmission according to the first frequency hopping configuration for the first CE mode using the first frequency hopping interval based on the CE mode indicator. In some examples, the uplink transmission manager 1115 may receive the first uplink transmission according to the second frequency hopping configuration for the second CE mode using the second frequency hopping interval based on the repetition level indicator indicating a number of repetitions for the first uplink transmission satisfying a threshold number of repetitions.”, Rico Alvarino [0325])
Shi, Rico Alvarino, and Abraham are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include frequency domain information that is associated with quantity of repeated transmission times as described in Rico Alvarino into Shi as modified by Abraham. By modifying the method to include frequency domain information that is associated with quantity of repeated transmission times as taught by Rico Alvarino, the benefits of improved network performance (Abraham [0028], Rico Alvarino [0325], and Shi [0225]) are achieved.
As to claim 12:
Shi discloses:
The method according to claim 7, wherein the configuration information set is received while in a radio resource control (RRC) idle mode. (“FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating implementation of reporting cell network information according to an embodiment. In this embodiment, the UE is in an RRC_IDLE state.”, Shi [0090])
Claim(s) 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi in view of Abraham and Rico Alvarino, as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Park et al. (US 20200351818; hereinafter “Park”).
As to claim 8:
The combination of Shi, Abraham, and Rico Alvarino as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method according to claim 7, wherein the transmission configuration information comprises at least one of the following: a paging cycle
However, Park further teaches transmission configuration information that includes paging cycle which includes:
The method according to claim 7, wherein the transmission configuration information comprises at least one of the following: a paging cycle (“The signal information may comprise paging control channel configuration parameters. The paging control channel configuration parameters may comprise indications of at least one of: a paging cycle; a paging offset (e.g., paging frame offset); a number of paging occasions per paging frame; a first PDCCH monitoring occasion for paging of a paging occasion of a paging frame (e.g., firstPDCCH-MonitoringOccasionOfPO); and/or the like. Indications of a paging offset may comprise indications of size, slots, subframes, frequency, periodicity, and/or timing offset (e.g., a number of slots/subframes and/or a time duration from a reference time point (e.g., SFN #0) at the first base station and/or the first cell)”, Park [0250])
Shi, Abraham, Rico Alvarino, and Park are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include transmission configuration information that includes paging cycle as described in Park into Shi as modified by Abraham and Rico Alvarino. By modifying the method to include transmission configuration information that includes paging cycle as taught by Park, the benefits of improved network performance (Abraham [0028], Rico Alvarino [0325], Park [0004], and Shi [0225]) are achieved.
Claim(s) 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi in view of Abraham and Rico Alvarino, as applied to claim 7, and further in view of Kim et al. (US 20220159568 A1; hereinafter “Kim”).
As to claim 9:
The combination of Shi, Rico Alvarino, and Abraham as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method according to claim 7, wherein the assistance information comprises DRX cycle
However, Kim further teaches DRX cycle in an assistance information which includes:
The method according to claim 7, wherein the assistance information comprises DRX cycle (“The UE assistance information may include, for example, one or at least one combination of the following parameters; [0161] DRX configuration information preferred by the UE [0162] For example, DRX related timer (onDurationTimer, InactivityTimer, HARQ-RTT-TimerDL, HARQ-RTT-TimerUL, RetransmissionTimerDL, RetransmissionTimerUL, DRX cycle and start offset)”, Kim [0152])
Shi, Abraham, Rico Alvarino, and Kim are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Shi, Rico Alvarino, and Abraham as applied to claim 7, based on the above teaching from Kim, to derive the limitations of claim 9, because the modification uses prior art elements according to their established functions to produce a predictable result that is equivalent to the claimed limitations. This method of improving was well within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art, who would have been motivated to perform this modification by providing assistance information including DRX cycle to the base station in order to enable the base station to provide targeted communications to the terminal.
Claim(s) 10 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi in view of Abraham and Rico Alvarino, as applied to claim 7, and further in view of Berggren et al. (WO 2020102159 A1; hereinafter “Berggren”).
As to claim 10 and 20 (claim 10 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 20):
The combination of Shi, Rico Alvarino, and Abraham as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method according to claim 7, further comprising: sending the assistance information to the first network device or a second network device; or sending a fourth message to a core network device, wherein the fourth message comprises the assistance information.
However, Berggen further teaches receiving second message from network device which includes:
The method according to claim 7, further comprising: sending the assistance information to the first network device or a second network device; or sending a fourth message to a core network device, wherein the fourth message comprises the assistance information. (“Initially, base station 74 and UE 72 may perform a RRC connection reconfiguration 76. Subsequently, the base station 74 may optionally transmit an assistance information configuration signal 78, which may contain configuration information as described above. The UE 72 may transmit an assistance information message 82. Message 82 may be optionally triggered by a satisfied condition 80 (resulting in a second message with assistance information). The condition 80 and/or the content of message 82 may subject to the configuration information include in signal 78. Upon receiving message 82, the base station 74 transmits an assistance information response signal 84. As described above, signal 84 may also include configuration information similar to signal 78. As shown in FIG. 5, upon satisfaction of condition 86, the UE 72 may transmit an assistance information repeat request 88. In accordance with another aspect, the network may suspend and resume assistance information transmissions. For instance, the base station 74 may transmit a stop signal 90, which causes the UE 72 to suspend transmissions 92. The base station 74 may transmit a restart signal 94 to resume transmissions by the UE 72. For instance, after receiving the restart signal 94, the UE 72 may transmit an assistance information message 98 (= third message with assistance information) upon optional satisfaction of condition 96”, Berggen [P. 26, Line 27 to P. 27, Line 11; and Fig. 5])
Shi, Abraham, Rico Alvarino, and Berggen are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Shi, Rico Alvarino, and Abraham as applied to claim 7, based on the above teaching from Berggren, to derive the limitations of claim 10, because the modification uses prior art elements according to their established functions to produce a predictable result that is equivalent to the claimed limitations. This method of improving was well within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art, who would have been motivated to perform this modification in order to repeat assistance information when needed.
Claim(s) 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi in view of Abraham and Rico Alvarino, as applied to claim 19, and further in view of Wong et al. (US 20190182794; hereinafter “Wong”) and Kim et al. (US 20220159568 A1; hereinafter “Kim”)
As to claim 24:
The combination of Shi, Rico Alvarino, and Abraham as described above does not explicitly teach:
The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the configuration information set is received while in a radio resource control (RRC) idle mode, and the assistance information comprises a DRX cycle.
However, Wong further teaches receiving configuration information in idle mode which includes:
The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the configuration information set is received while in a radio resource control (RRC) idle mode, (“In an embodiment, the positioning configuration may instead be broadcast in the system information. A UE can receive system information in the form of Master Information Blocks (MIB) and/or System Information Blocks (SIB) while in RRC idle mode (or RRC suspended mode), for the purpose of obtaining parameters necessary for functions including cell selection, paging message detection and network access, and the OTDOA configuration information can be included also. This option saves the requirement for the UE to be in RRC connected mode for positioning configuration. Additional configuration, if required, can then be configured at a time when the UE is RRC connected. An indication can be signalled to the UE to start the PRS measuring process. Such an indication can be signalled in a RRC message.”, Wong [0058])
Shi, Abraham, Rico Alvarino, and Wong are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Shi, Rico Alvarino, and Abraham as applied to claim 19, based on the above teaching from Berggren, to derive the limitations of claim 24, because the modification uses prior art elements according to their established functions to produce a predictable result that is equivalent to the claimed limitations. This method of improving was well within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art, who would have been motivated to perform this modification in order to improve the configuration process.
The combination of Shi, Rico Alvarino, Abraham, and Wong as described above does not explicitly teach:
and the assistance information comprises a DRX cycle.
However, Kim further teaches including DRX cycle in the assistance information which includes:
and the assistance information comprises a DRX cycle. (“The UE assistance information may include, for example, one or at least one combination of the following parameters; [0161] DRX configuration information preferred by the UE [0162] For example, DRX related timer (onDurationTimer, InactivityTimer, HARQ-RTT-TimerDL, HARQ-RTT-TimerUL, RetransmissionTimerDL, RetransmissionTimerUL, DRX cycle and start offset)”, Kim [0152])
Shi, Abraham, Rico Alvarino, Wong and Kim are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Shi, Rico Alvarino, and Abraham as applied to claim 19, based on the above teaching from Kim, to derive the limitations of claim 24, because the modification uses prior art elements according to their established functions to produce a predictable result that is equivalent to the claimed limitations. This method of improving was well within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art, who would have been motivated to perform this modification by providing additional information in the assistance information sent to the network node.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW C KIM whose telephone number is (703)756-5607. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM - 5PM (PST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sujoy K Kundu can be reached at (571) 272-8586. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/A.C.K./
Examiner
Art Unit 2471
/SUJOY K KUNDU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2471
Prosecution Insights