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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 11/26/2025 has been entered.
Priority
Applicant cannot rely upon the certified copy of the foreign priority application to overcome this rejection because a translation of said application has not been made of record in accordance with 37 CFR 1.55. See MPEP §§ 215 and 216.
Failure to provide a certified translation may result in no benefit being accorded for the non-English application. In particular, the Examiner is unable to find subject matter support in the following foreign application(s): CN202111324873.4. With regard to foreign application, CN202111324873.4, the Examiner is unable to locate a suitable English translation of the document. An English translation of CN202111324873.4 is required to obtain the priority date associated with said application number.
Thus, the current benefit accords to the filing date of 11/09/2022 of the instant application.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 6 and 9 is/are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s silence with respect to the priority to the foreign application CN202111324873.4 has been noted. Therefore, the current benefit accords to the filing date of 11/09/2022 of the instant application.
Applicant’s corrections filed 11/26/2025 with respect to claim objections for claim(s) 3, 15, and 20 made on 08/27/2025 have been considered and the objection to the claims is withdrawn.
Applicant’s corrections filed 11/26/2025 with respect to claim rejection under 112(b) for claim(s) 3 made on 08/27/2025 have been considered and the claim rejection under 112(b) to the claims are withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments filed 11/26/2025 with respect to claim(s) 1, 15, and 19-20 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection under 103 based on Jung et al. (US 2021/0321478 A1) in view of new reference Kim et al. (US 2024/0365364 A1).
Applicant’s arguments filed 11/26/2025 with respect to claim 9 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection to the claim has been withdrawn.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 1 is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim(s) 1 recites “the failure information includes,” “on a condition that the first timer is expired and the first timer is T319 or T300 timer,” and “on a condition that the first timer is expired and the first timer is a timer other than the T319 or T300 timer.” But they should be “the failure information including,” “on a condition that the first timer [[is]] has expired and the first timer is T319 or T300 timer,” and “on a condition that the first timer [[is]] has expired and the first timer is a timer other than the T319 or T300 timer.” See amendments filed 11/26/2025 for claims 15 and 19-20. Appropriate correction is required.
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 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) 1-2, 8, 10, 16, and 19-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jung et al. (US 2021/0321478 A1) in view of Kim et al. (US 2024/0365364 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 19, Jung discloses A user equipment (UE), comprising and A method, comprising (Figs. 1F-G, L: UE):
a transmitter configured to (Fig. 1L, [0397]: baseband processor 1 l-20 and RF processor 1 l-10 may be referred to as a transmitter, a transceiver) transmit a request for a radio resource control (RRC) connection procedure in a first cell, wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit the request when the UE is in a state other than an RRC_CONNECTED state, and wherein a first timer is started (Figs. 1F-G, [0169], [0215]: UE is in RRC_IDLE state in 1f-05 when initiating an RRC connection establishment procedure with a gNB and starts a timer T300 in 1 f-25 after selecting/reselecting a cell in 1f-15, 1f-20, or UE is in RRC_INACTIVE state in 1g-05 when initiating an RRC connection resume procedure with the gNB and starts a timer T319 in 1 g-25 after selecting/reselecting a cell in 1g-10, 1g-20), wherein:
the UE is configured to store failure information on a condition that the RRC connection procedure has failed (Figs. 1F-G, [0170]-[0171], [0177], [0180], [0216]-[0218], [0222], [0233]: when the timer expires, i.e., T300 in 1 f-30, or T319 in 1 g-30, UE performs action 2 for processing connection failure including storing connection establishment failure information in VarConnEstFailReport in 1 f-35, or resume connection establishment failure information in VarConnEstFailReport in 1 g-35), the failure information includes/including a measurement result of the first cell ([0180], [0182], [0222], [0224]: the connection establishment failure information or the resume connection establishment failure information comprises a measResultFailedCell field including a RSRP and RSRQ of a failed cell based on available SSB measurements),
on a condition that the first timer is/has expired and the first timer is a T319 or T300 timer, the failure information does not include first information (Figs. 1F-G, [0171], [0176]-[0178], [0217], [0233]: when the timers expire, i.e., T300 in 1 f-30 and T319 in 1 g-30, UE performs action 2 related to VarConnEstFailReport including discarding content included in VarConnEstFailReport except for numberOfConnFail. Note: VarConnEstFailReport does not include first information because it only includes numberOfConnFail which is not mapped to first information);
Jung does not teach, but Kim teaches on a condition that the first timer is/has expired and the first timer is a timer other than the T319 or T300 timer, the failure information includes the first information ([0180], [0190]-[0191], [0214]-[0215]: based on T310 or T312 expiry, [0232]-[0243]: UE sets rlf-Cause (=first information) in VarRLF-Report (=failure information)),
the first information comprises first sub-information used to indicate a condition in a first condition set for determining that the RRC connection procedure has failed ([0169]: detection of physical layer problem in RRC_CONNECTED eventually leads to [0232]-[0243]: rlf-Cause is set to t310-Expiry, beamFailureRecoveryFailure, randomAccessProblem, rlc-MaxNumRetx, or IbtFailure (=first sub-information) to declare radio link failure based on T310 expiry, random access problem, beam failure recovery, reaching a maximum number of retransmission from the MCG RLC, or consistent uplink LBT failures (=first condition), respectively), and
the first condition set comprises at least one of: a maximum number of Radio Link Control (RLC) retransmissions being reached, expiration of a T310 timer, a listen before talk (LBT) failure, a beam failure recovery (BFR) failure, or a random access failure ([0232]-[0243]: rlf-Cause is set to declare radio link failure based on T310 expiry, random access problem, beam failure recovery, reaching a maximum number of retransmission from the MCG RLC, or consistent uplink LBT failures).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Jung, based on a radio link failure due to T310 or T312 expiry, to set rlf-Cause in VarRlf-Report to declare radio link failure based on T310 expiry, random access problem, beam failure recovery, reaching a maximum number of retransmission from the MCG RLC, or consistent uplink LBT failures, as taught by Kim.
Doing so allows the UE to report the cause for radio link failure in the VarRLF-Report (Kim: [0232]) to a network or to perform recovery procedure (Kim: [0008]).
Regarding claims 15 and 20, Jung discloses A base station, comprising and A method, comprising (Figs. 1F-G, M: gNB):
a receiver configured to (Fig. 1M, [0403]: baseband processor 1 m-20 and RF processor 1 m-10 may be referred to as a receiver, a transceiver) receive, from a UE in a state other than an RRC_CONNECTED state, a request for a radio resource control (RRC) connection procedure in a first cell, wherein a first timer is started (Figs. 1F-G, [0169], [0215]: UE is in RRC_IDLE state in 1f-05 when initiating an RRC connection establishment procedure with a gNB and starts a timer T300 in 1 f-25 after selecting/reselecting a cell in 1f-15, 1f-20, or UE is in RRC_INACTIVE state in 1g-05 when initiating an RRC connection resume procedure with the gNB and starts a timer T319 in 1 g-25 after selecting/reselecting a cell in 1g-10, 1g-20), and wherein:
failure information is stored on a condition that the RRC connection procedure has failed (Figs. 1F-G, [0170]-[0171], [0177], [0180], [0216]-[0218], [0222], [0233]: when the timer expires, i.e., T300 in 1 f-30, or T319 in 1 g-30, UE performs actions 1 and 2 for processing connection failure including storing connection establishment failure information in VarConnEstFailReport in 1 f-35, or resume connection establishment failure information in VarConnEstFailReport in 1 g-35), the failure information including a measurement result of the first cell ([0180], [0182], [0222], [0224]: the connection establishment failure information or the resume connection establishment failure information comprises a measResultFailedCell field including a RSRP and RSRQ of a failed cell based on available SSB measurements),
on a condition that the first timer has expired and the first timer is a T319 or T300 timer, the failure information does not include first information (Figs. 1F-G, [0171], [0176]-[0178], [0217], [0233]: when the timers expire, i.e., T300 in 1 f-30 and T319 in 1 g-30, UE performs action 2 related to VarConnEstFailReport including discarding content included in VarConnEstFailReport except for numberOfConnFail. Note: VarConnEstFailReport does not include first information because it only includes numberOfConnFail which is not mapped to first information)
Jung does not teach, but Kim teaches on a condition that the first timer has expired and the first timer is a timer other than the T319 or T300 timer, the failure information includes the first information ([0180], [0190]-[0191], [0214]-[0215]: based on T310 or T312 expiry, [0232]-[0243]: UE sets rlf-Cause (=first information) in VarRLF-Report (=failure information)),
the first information comprises first sub-information used to indicate a condition in a first condition set for determining that the RRC connection procedure has failed ([0169]: detection of physical layer problem in RRC_CONNECTED eventually leads to [0232]-[0243]: rlf-Cause is set to t310-Expiry, beamFailureRecoveryFailure, randomAccessProblem, rlc-MaxNumRetx, or IbtFailure (=first sub-information) to declare radio link failure based on T310 expiry, random access problem, beam failure recovery, reaching a maximum number of retransmission from the MCG RLC, or consistent uplink LBT failures (=first condition), respectively), and
the first condition set comprises at least one of: a maximum number of Radio Link Control (RLC) retransmissions being reached, expiration of a T310 timer, a listen before talk (LBT) failure, a beam failure recovery (BFR) failure, or a random access failure ([0232]-[0243]: rlf-Cause is set to declare radio link failure based on T310 expiry, random access problem, beam failure recovery, reaching a maximum number of retransmission from the MCG RLC, or consistent uplink LBT failures).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Jung, based on a radio link failure due to T310 or T312 expiry, to set rlf-Cause in VarRlf-Report to declare radio link failure based on T310 expiry, random access problem, beam failure recovery, reaching a maximum number of retransmission from the MCG RLC, or consistent uplink LBT failures, as taught by Kim.
Doing so allows the UE to report the cause for radio link failure in the VarRLF-Report (Kim: [0232]) to a network or to perform recovery procedure (Kim: [0008]).
Regarding claim(s) 2, 16, Jung in view of Kim discloses all features of claim(s) 1, 15 as outlined above.
Jung discloses wherein the failure information is a VarConnEstFailReport (Figs. 1F-G, [0170]-[0171], [0177], [0180], [0216]-[0218], [0222], [0233]: when the timer expires, i.e., T300 in 1 f-30, or T319 in 1 g-30, UE performs actions 1 and 2 for processing connection failure including storing connection establishment failure information in VarConnEstFailReport in 1 f-35, or resume connection establishment failure information in VarConnEstFailReport in 1 g-35).
Regarding claim(s) 8, Jung in view of Kim discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above.
Jung discloses wherein:
the transmitter is configured to, on a condition that the RRC connection procedure has failed, transmit a request for a second RRC connection procedure on a second cell, wherein a second timer is started (Figs. 1H-I, [0270], [0291], [0314], [0333]: Figs. H-I are similar to Figs. F-G but the UE may change the cell after a first timer expires, i.e., the UE changes from a previously camped-on cell to a currently camped-on cell. Then, the UE then initiates another RRC connection establishment procedure and starts a second timer T300 in 1 h-40 or 1 i-40 with the currently camped-on cell),
wherein:
on a condition that the second timer has expired, the second RRC connection procedure fails, on a condition that the second RRC connection procedure has failed, the UE is configured to clear at least a portion of the failure information and store second failure information (Figs. 1H-I do not show the second timer T300 expiring, but it would have been obvious that if they expire like in 1 h-30, the UE repeats the actions 1 and 2 in 1 h-35 for the currently camped-on cell. Fig. 1F, [0170]-[0171], [0177]-[0178], [0180]: when the timer expires, i.e., T300 in 1 f-30, UE performs actions 1 and 2 for processing connection failure including discarding content included in VarConnEstFailReport, and storing connection establishment failure information in VarConnEstFailReport in 1 f-35), and
the second failure information includes second measurement result associated with the second cell ([0180], [0182], [0222], [0224]: the connection establishment failure information comprises a measResultFailedCell field including a RSRP and RSRQ of a failed cell based on available SSB measurements).
Regarding claim(s) 10, Jung in view of Kim discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above.
Jung discloses wherein:
the transmitter is configured to transmit a third message indicating whether the failure information is stored (Figs. 1F-G, [0202], [0245]: UE transmits an RRCReconfigurationComlete message or an RRCRestablishmentComplete message with a connEstFailInfoAvailable indicator in 1 f-60 or 1 g-60),
the UE includes a receiver configured to receive a fourth message indicating a request for reporting the failure information (Figs. 1F-G, [0203], [0246]: UE receives a UEInformationRequest message with a connEstFailReportReq set to true in 1 f-65 or 1 g-65), and
the transmitter is configured to, on a condition that the UE receives the fourth message, transmit a fifth message including the failure information (Figs. 1F-G, [0204], [0247]: UE transmits UEInformationResponse message with the VarConnEstFailReport including the connection establishment failure information in 1 f-70 or 1 g-70).
Regarding claim(s) 21, Jung in view of Kim discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above.
Jung does not disclose, but Kim discloses wherein the first sub-information indicates that the condition in the first condition set is the maximum number of RLC retransmissions being reached ([0232]-[0243]: rlf-Cause is set to rlc-MaxNumRetx (=first sub-information) to declare radio link failure based on reaching a maximum number of retransmission from the MCG RLC (=first condition)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Jung, to set rlf-Cause to rlc-MaxNumRetx to declare radio link failure based on reaching a maximum number of retransmission from the MCG RLC, as taught by Kim.
Doing so allows the UE to report the cause for radio link failure in the VarRLF-Report (Kim: [0232]) to a network or to perform recovery procedure (Kim: [0008]).
Regarding claim(s) 22, Jung in view of Kim discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above.
Jung does not disclose, but Kim discloses wherein the first sub-information indicates that the condition in the first condition set is the expiration of the T310 timer ([0232]-[0243]: rlf-Cause is set to t310-Expiry to declare radio link failure based on T310 expiry (=first condition)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Jung, to set rlf-Cause to t310-Expiry to declare radio link failure based on T310 expiry, as taught by Kim.
Doing so allows the UE to report the cause for radio link failure in the VarRLF-Report (Kim: [0232]) to a network or to perform recovery procedure (Kim: [0008]).
Regarding claim(s) 23, Jung in view of Kim discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above.
Jung does not disclose, but Kim discloses wherein the first sub-information indicates that the condition in the first condition set is the LBT failure ([0232]-[0243]: rlf-Cause is set to IbtFailure (=first sub-information) to declare radio link failure based on consistent uplink LBT failures (=first condition)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Jung, to set rlf-Cause to IbtFailure to declare radio link failure based on consistent uplink LBT failures, as taught by Kim.
Doing so allows the UE to report the cause for radio link failure in the VarRLF-Report (Kim: [0232]) to a network or to perform recovery procedure (Kim: [0008]).
Regarding claim(s) 24, Jung in view of Kim discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above.
Jung does not disclose, but Kim discloses wherein the first sub-information indicates that the condition in the first condition set is the BFR failure ([0232]-[0243]: rlf-Cause is set to beamFailureRecoveryFailure (=first sub-information) to declare radio link failure based on beam failure recovery (=first condition)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Jung, to set rlf-Cause to beamFailureRecoveryFailure to declare radio link failure based on beam failure recovery, as taught by Kim.
Doing so allows the UE to report the cause for radio link failure in the VarRLF-Report (Kim: [0232]) to a network or to perform recovery procedure (Kim: [0008]).
Regarding claim(s) 25, Jung in view of Kim discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above.
Jung does not disclose, but Kim discloses wherein the first sub-information indicates that the condition in the first condition set is the random access failure ([0232]-[0243]: rlf-Cause is set to randomAccessProblem (=first sub-information) to declare radio link failure based on random access problem (=first condition)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Jung, to set rlf-Cause to randomAccessProblem to declare radio link failure based on random access problem, as taught by Kim.
Doing so allows the UE to report the cause for radio link failure in the VarRLF-Report (Kim: [0232]) to a network or to perform recovery procedure (Kim: [0008]).
Claim(s) 5, 7, 11, and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jung et al. (US 2021/0321478 A1) in view of Kim et al. (US 2024/0365364 A1) and Tseng et al. (US 2023/0088189 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 5, 17, Jung in view of Kim discloses all features of claim(s) 1, 15 as outlined above.
Jung does not disclose, but Tseng discloses wherein the first information comprises second sub-information, and the second sub-information is used to determine whether a type of the first RRC connection procedure is a first type or a second type ([0256]: UE records a RLF event happens during CG-SDT / RA-SDT procedure. [0366]-[0367]: the SDT failure may happen after the UE transmits an RRCResumeRequest message or an RRCResumeRequest1 message, and the UE stores this SDT failure event. [0131], [0138]: the SDT procedure includes a CG-SDT or an RA-SDT procedure); if the type of the first RRC connection procedure is the first type, the first message is transmitted in a random access procedure; and if the type of the first RRC connection procedure is the second type, the first message is transmitted on pre-configured uplink resources ([0073]: the RRCResumeRequest message may be transmitted with UL data during a CG-SDT procedure or an RA-SDT procedure. [0102], [0104]-[0106]: the SDT procedure may be started while at least one of the events happens: RA-SDT procedure includes transmitting during RA procedure, and CG-SDT procedure includes accessing the UL configured grant, and transmitting RRCResumeRequest message).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Jung, to record RLF event happens during CG-SDT or RA-SDT procedure, where the RRCResumeRequest may be transmitted with UL data during a CG-SDT procedure or an RA-SDT procedure, as taught by Tseng.
Doing so allows the UE to multiplex UL data with the RRCResumeRequest message during the SDT procedure and enables the serving RAN to identify the UE (Tseng: [0073]).
Regarding claim(s) 7, 18, Jung in view of Kim and Tseng discloses all features of claim(s) 5, 17 as outlined above.
Jung does not disclose, but Tseng discloses wherein whether the first failure information comprises second information is related to at least a former of the first condition and the type of the first RRC connection procedure; the second information is used to indicate random access information ([0249]: UE records failed random access procedure triggered for RA-SDT procedures in VarRA-Report. [0366]-[0367]: the SDT failure may happen after the UE transmits an RRCResumeRequest message or an RRCResumeRequest1 message, and the UE stores this SDT failure event. [0131], [0138]: the SDT procedure includes a CG-SDT or an RA-SDT procedure. [0102], [0104], [0106], [0109]: the SDT procedure may be started while at least one of the events happens: RA-SDT procedure includes transmitting during RA procedure, and transmitting RRCResumeRequest message, and SDT procedure may be terminated while at least one of the events happens: SDT failure detection timer expires).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Jung, to record failed random access procedure triggered for RA-SDT procedure in VarRA-report when SDT failure happens based on SDT failure detection timer expiring, as taught by Tseng.
Doing so allows the UE to report the VarRA-Report to the serving cell as requested during the SDT procedure (Tseng: [0228]-[0229], [0245], [0249]).
Regarding claim(s) 11, Jung in view of Kim discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above.
Jung does not disclose, but Tseng discloses wherein the UE is configured to, on a condition that the RRC connection procedure is used for a small data transmission (SDT), resume a first bearer ([0166]: radio bearers are resumed in an SDT procedure. Fig. 4, [0319]: UE starts SDT session by transmitting encoded packets directly with the RRCResumeRequest message).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Jung, to resume radio bearers, such as DRB(s), in an SDT procedure by transmitting encoding packets directly with the RRCResumeRequest message, as taught by Tseng.
Doing so allows only the pending data in these DRB(s) to be exchanged during the SDT procedure (Tseng: [0166]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THE HY NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3813. The examiner can normally be reached on Mo-Fr: 8am-4pm.
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, Joseph Avellino, can be reached on (571) 272-3905. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/THE HY NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
TheHy.Nguyen@USPTO.gov