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 .
Disposition of Claims
With Applicants submission dated 02/04/2026, the status of the claims are: claims 1-3, 6-14, and 16-20, are pending examination; claims 4-5 and 15, have been cancelled; and claims 1, 12, and 17, have been amended with the subject matter of cancelled claims 4 and 5.
Response to Arguments
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Applicant's arguments filed 02/04/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The applicant alleges that the combination of over Fujishiro et al. (US 2021/0058973 A1), in view of Alfarhan et al. (US 2023/0189245 A1), in view of Kim et al. (US 2021/0105851 A1), and further in view of Zhang et al. (US 2019/0274117 A1), does not disclose:
“before the transmitting of the response, determining whether the terminal needs to perform a procedure for maintaining uplink synchronization with the base station or whether uplink synchronization is valid; and
in response to determining that the procedure for maintaining uplink synchronization with the base station needs to be performed, performing a random access (RA) procedure to the base station or transmitting an uplink signal for acquiring uplink synchronization with the base station to the base station by using an uplink radio resource indicated by the information indicating the DL SDT reception operation”
The office respectfully disagrees with the applicants assertion.
With regard to the applicants mischaracterization of the specification as filed, the applicant alleges that above claims support performing a RACH or a transmission of an uplink signal prior to the DL SDT operation, see page 12:
“However, the cited paragraphs of Zhang merely disclose a configuration in which a response to a paging message itself is transmitted as Message 1 (Msg1). In other words the cited paragraphs of Zhang only describe transmitting the response using Msg1 of a random access procedure, and thus differ from the configuration of original claims 6 and 7, which an RA procedure is performed on an uplink signal for acquiring uplink synchronization is transmitted before the response in order to acquire or maintain uplink synchronization”.
The office notes that fig.8 of applicants PG PUB (US 2023/0156702 A1), and element S803 differs from the applicants assertion that a RACH procedure takes place, or rather an entire RACH procedure takes place is incorrect. For example, applicants own specification teaches in par.[0328] that DL SDT operation may also convey to the UE that uplink synchronization is need or not, see:
“terminal receiving the uplink radio resource allocation information for synchronization acquisition and/or indicated to perform an uplink synchronization acquisition operation in step S802 may transmit an uplink signal/message for synchronization acquisition and/or a response message to the DL SDT reception operation indication (S803).”
As can be seen the DL SDT can convey to the UE DL SDT and if the uplink synchronization is needed. Further, the disclosure teaches away from the applicants assertion that an entire RACH procedure is performed prior to the DL SDT procedure, see fig.8 and element S803, and applicants par.[0329], which recites, in part:
“The base station receiving the uplink signal/message (e.g., SR resource, UL RS, RA preamble, and/or MSG-A, etc.) for synchronization acquisition in step S803 may transmit, to the terminal, TA information for uplink synchronization configuration (or adjustment) and/or a DL SDT packet (S804).”.
As can be seen, the above uplink synchronization message corresponds with an MSG1/MSGA, wherein the RACH preamble is sent along with the response. This is contrary to the applicants assertion that before the response that the RACH for uplink synchronization is performed.
Additionally, the disclosure of Zhang teaches that if/when the UE needs uplink synchronization, then, the UE may send the MSG1 which is the response to the DL EDT paging message, wherein the paging message may convey a plurality of parameters outside of just the DL EDT see, par.[0066] which teaches that the data transmission is agreed to or not, along with an indication of needing an UL grant, an uplink synchronization, or power control as discussed in par.[0091]. The reasons why the UE must determine this prior to sending the RACH preamble, is because (a) with regard to uplink grant the network does not know if the UE has buffered uplink data residing at the UE, and thus preamble would notify the network that, hey, I need to send data. Along with the UL grant the UE can request UL synchronization, which along with the UL grant can be sent in the MSG2. Additionally, this information (e.g. the UL Grant, the TA for uplink synchronization, or the Power Control command) can all be sent, two, one, or none in reference to the MSG1 which confirms the receipt of the DL data, see par.[0091] which recites, in part, “so that in a case that the terminal needs to perform the transmission of the Message 3, and/or in a case that the uplink synchronization needs to be performed, or when the uplink power control needs to be performed”. As can be seen the UE must need to perform the uplink synchronization and it must be done prior to the transmission of the MSG1 and MSG2. Thus, the disclosure of Zhang in view of the other prior art reference substantially disclose the claimed subject matter, and the claims stand rejected for all of the reasons given above.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-3, 8-14, and 16-18is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujishiro et al. (US 2021/0058973 A1), in view of Alfarhan et al. (US 2023/0189245 A1), in view of Kim et al. (US 2021/0105851 A1), and further in view of Zhang et al. (US 2019/0274117 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 17, the disclosure of Fujishiro teaches:
a terminal (fig.1 depicts a plurality of terminals (i.e. user equipments) element 100-1 – 100-3, par.[0022]) in a mobile communciation system (fig.1 depicts a mobile communications system), comprising:
a processor (fig.2 controller 130); and
a transceiver controlled by the processor (fig.2 receiver and transmitter coupled to the processor), wherein the processor is executed to perform:
a method for receiving a downlink (DL) small data transmission (SDT) (par.[0060] describes downlink early data transmission), performed by a terminal (fig.1 depicts a plurality of user equipment 100), the method comprising:
receiving DL SDT-related configuration information from a base station through system information (par.[0074] describes the base station, as shown in fig.1, transmitting SIB which indicates uplink and downlink EDT thresholds, (e.g. Transport Block Sizes) that are acceptable for EDT):
receiving information indicating a DL SDT reception operation from the base station (par.[0076] and fig.8 element S102 describes the UE detecting a trigger for RACH, e.g. an EDT procedure, such as paging from the network);
determining whether to initiate the DL SDT reception operation, based on the information indicating the DL SDT reception operation and the DL SDT-related configuration information (fig.8 UE receives S101 which describes the configuration information for EDT, the UE receives the EDT trigger (e.g. RACH trigger), the UE then uses the configuration information based on the trigger to determine if the size of the data qualifies for EDT procedure see e.g. S103);
in response to determining to initiate the DL SDT reception operation, transmitting a response to the information indicating the DL SDT reception operation to the base station (fig.8 element S104 where the UE and the network may perform the EDT, e.g. the UE receives the paging indication from the network and evaluates whether to perform the DL SDT, the UE then performs RACH by transmitting a MSG1 which is RACH preamble); and
receiving a DL SDT packet from the base station (MSG4 EDT reception as discussed in par.[0157] and par.[0077]),
wherein the DL SDT-related configuration information (the aforementioned configuration information as discussed above) includes:
information on a threshold value for determining whether a DL SDT operation is possible, DL SDT operation bandwidth part (BWP) configuration information, DL SDT operation control channel resource set (CORESET) configuration information, DL SDT executing information, DL SDT validity timer, or DL SDT operation period (the UE receives the configuration comprising at least the threshold value as discussed in fig.8 and par.[0074] along with T300 validity EDT operation timer, and the resources associated with RACH transmission (e.g. BWP and/or CORESETs), the information including in the configuration being information used for executing the DL SDT, and the validity timer corresponds to an operating period or a period where the DL SDT operation are valid to be performed).
wherein the PDCCH is received using a predefined paging scheduling identifier or a scheduling identifier assigned to the terminal through the DL SDT-related configuration information (Fujishiro discloses that the DL SDT information comprises the paging identifier, see e.g. par.[0130] which recites, in part, “UE 1202 may decode the RAR message in response to the information in the paging message (e.g., a gNB pages UE 1202 based on a UE-specific ID/RRC Resume ID or one-bit indicator to inform UE 1202 to receive the RAR response for DL packet transmission).” Fig.2a discloses that the RACH configuration is used for UL/DL transmissions in the inactive state and/or resume, e.g. the resume-ID.).
While the disclosure of Fujishiro substantially discloses the claimed subject matter, it does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the DL SDT-related configuration information includes information on an reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold value for determining whether a DL SDT operation is possible, and
wherein the determining of whether to initiate the DL SDT reception operation is performed based on comparison between the RSRP threshold value and an RSRP of a radio link between the base station and the terminal.
The office notes that using the RSRP to determine whether UL/DL SDT can be performed was known in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application. For example, the disclosure of Alfarhan, which is an analogous art, discloses: wherein the DL SDT-related configuration information includes information on an reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold value for determining whether a DL SDT operation is possible (par.[0003] describes the Wireless Transmit and Receive Unit (WTRU) receiving configuration information from the network. The configuration includes multiple thresholds for example, a downlink data size, par.[0108] describes a CG for DL small data may be utilized based on the data size. Additionally, the disclosure teaches an RSRP threshold in par.[0109] wherein the UE may receive an RSRP threshold for DL small data transmission), and
wherein the determining of whether to initiate the DL SDT reception operation is performed based on comparison between the RSRP threshold value and an RSRP of a radio link between the base station and the terminal (par.[0109] describes the UE receiving an reference signal from the base station based on the RSRP of the reference signal determining whether or not to perform the DL SDT transmission, see e.g. “The WTRU may monitor for DL assignments on a configured grant for small data reception if the measured channel condition is within the configure range or less than the threshold.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Fujishiro for determining when to perform DL small data transmission, with the disclosure of Alfarhan which addresses the deficiencies in Fujishiro as it pertains to when to perform downlink small data transmission. The motivation/suggestion would have been that, for small data to be performed accurately a threshold signaling power is needed between the base station and the WTRU in order to effectively transmit and/or receive small data between the WTRU and the network.
While the disclosure of Fujishiro and Alfarhan, and in particular Fujishiro teaches reception of wherein the information indicating the DL SDT reception operation is received as being included in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) which is monitored and received (fig.8 element S102 wherein the UE receives the paging message. It is known that paging is sent on PDCCH, see associated disclosure).
However, the disclosure of Fujishiro and Alfarhan does not teach:
(PDCCH) monitored and received in a time region according to a semi- persistent scheduling (SPS) periodicity indicated by the DL SDT-related configuration information or a discontinuous reception (DRX) operation cycle.
However, it was well-known prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to receive a PDDCH during a certain period in a DRX cycle or during certain occasions reflecting the periodicity of a semi-persistent schedule. For example, in an analogous art the disclosure of Kim teaches:
(PDCCH) monitored and received in a time region according to a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) periodicity indicated by the DL SDT-related configuration information or a discontinuous reception (DRX) operation cycle (par.[0259 and 0267] describe the paging being transmitted on PDCCH associated in the PDR. The PDR which is an SPS or preconfigured downlink resource).
wherein the PDCCH is received using a predefined paging scheduling identifier or a scheduling identifier assigned to the terminal through the DL SDT-related configuration information (Additionally, the disclosure of Kim teaches paging scheduling identifier which are predefined, see e.g. par.[0259 and 0267]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Fujishiro and Alfarhan for providing a paging message, with the disclosure of Kim for providing the paging message on a SPS downlink resource. The motivation/suggestion would have been that providing a preconfigured or semi-persistent resource the signaling can be performed and the nodes can operate according to the signaling without having to consistently reconfigure the resource reducing the overall signaling overhead.
While the disclosure of Fujishiro, Alfarhan, and Kim teaches:
reception of a RACH configuration wherein the RACH configured is used for small data transmission. Additionally, the disclosures of Fujishiro and Alfarhan teaches the transmission of a paging message to the UE to indicate intention for SDT. While the disclosure of Fujishiro and Alfarhan substantially discloses the claimed invention, it does not disclose:
before the transmitting of the response, determining whether the terminal needs to perform a procedure for maintaining uplink synchronization with the base station or whether uplink synchronization is valid; and
in response to determining that the procedure for maintaining uplink synchronization with the base station needs to be performed, performing a random access (RA) procedure to the base station or transmitting an uplink signal for acquiring uplink synchronization with the base station to the base station by using an uplink radio resource indicated by the information indicating the DL SDT reception operation.
However, determining whether the Timing Advance for the station with the cell it is currently camped is a necessary and well-known procedure in the art. For example, the disclosure of Zhang teaches:
before the transmitting of the response (fig.2 discloses that the UE receives a paging message from the network. The paging message comprising an indication of downlink data), determining whether the terminal needs to perform a procedure for maintaining uplink synchronization with the base station or whether uplink synchronization is valid (fig.2 element 202 and par.[0091] describes the UE in response to the MSG1 receiving a MSG2 e.g. a RAR with Timing Advance Uplink Synchronization information. Wherein RACH MSG1 or MSGA is used for obtaining TA or uplink synchronization, which is included in the case that the UE needs uplink synchronization otherwise it isn’t, see par.[0091] which recites, in part, “an uplink timing (TA) used for the uplink synchronization,……. and/or in a case that the uplink synchronization needs to be performed”. That is, the UE will perform RACH, which is known for affecting uplink synchronization, and receive the TA for uplink synchronization in an MSG2):
in response to determining that the procedure for maintaining uplink synchronization with the base station needs to be performed, performing a random access (RA) procedure to the base station or transmitting an uplink signal for acquiring uplink synchronization with the base station to the base station by using an uplink radio resource indicated by the information indicating the DL SDT reception operation (par.[0064 – 0066] which describes that the UE receives the paging message and constructs the MSG1 in accordance to the paging message. That is, the MSG1 is based on the resource information in the paging message. Par.[0081 and 0091] as discussed above, as it pertains to “needs to be performed”, the needs requires some determination at the UE prior to the transmission of the MSG1 by the UE as discussed in fig.2 and fig.3 see MSG1 (reply information)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Fujishiro and Alfarhan for providing a paging message, with the disclosure of Kim for providing the paging message on a SPS downlink resource, with the disclosure of Zhang. The motivation/suggestion would have been that providing a reply with a plurality of information and receiving a MSG2 which is a reply to MSG1 with a plurality of information reduces the signaling overhead, (see Zhang par.[0091]).
Regarding claim 8, Zhang discloses:
wherein in the receiving of the DL SDT packet, information on a timing advance (TA) based on the RA procedure or the uplink signal for acquiring uplink synchronization with the base station is additionally received (fig.3 element E and par.[0119 – 0121] which depict a UE receiving a RAR/MSG2 from the network wherein the UE can receive the small data packets along with the TA for uplink synchronization, see e.g. par.[0091]).
Regarding claim 16, Zhang discloses:
wherein the transmitting of the DL SDT packet further comprises:
transmitting, to the terminal, information on a timing advance (TA) based on a random access procedure with the terminal or an uplink signal received from the terminal for uplink synchronization acquisition (fig.3 element E and par.[0119 – 0121] which depict a UE receiving a RAR/MSG2 from the network wherein the UE can receive the small data packets along with the TA for uplink synchronization, see e.g. par.[0091]
Regarding claims 2 and 13, Fujishiro discloses:
Wherein the DL SDT packet has a size less than or equal to a predetermined size and includes intermittently generated data or signaling information (par.[0077] which recites, in part, “The UE 100 may also determine whether or not the downlink data volume which the UE 100 is about to receive from the eNB 200 is equal to or smaller than the maximum downlink data volume.” Par.[0059] which recites, in part, “An eMTC UE or NB-IoT UE has a small volume of data to be transmitted and received and transmits and receives data infrequently.”).
Regarding claims 3, 14, and 18, Fujishiro discloses:
wherein the determining whether to initiate the DL SDT operation is performed based on the threshold value for determining whether a DL SDT operation is performed based on the threshold value for determining whether a DL SDT operation is possible (fig.8 S101 the UE receives the EDT configuration parameters including the Maximum Transport Block Size (TBS). The UE then evaluates whether the UL and/or DL TBS is suitable for EDT operation, see e.g. S103 and par.[0077]).
Regarding claim 9, Fujishiro discloses:
transmitting, to the base station, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback information and/or control information for the DL SDT packet (par.[0157] describes the UE forward ACK for DL-EDT, which is HARQ, wherein HARQ is considered to be control information).
Regarding claim 11, Fujishiro discloses:
after the receiving of the DL SDT packet, transitioning to an RRC idle state or remaining in an RRC inactive state according to configuration or indication of the base station (par.[0157] which recites, in part, “The typical use case of EDT is assumed to complete the data transmission/reception in Msg3 and Msg4 without transition to RRC Connected”.).
Regarding claim 12, Fujishiro discloses:
a method for a downlink (DL) small data transmission (SDT) (par.[0060] describes downlink early data transmission) operation, performed by a base station (fig.1 depicts a base station (see e.g. element 202) communicating with a plurality of user terminals (see e.g. element 100) over a wireless link), the method comprising:
transmitting DL SDT-related configuration information to a terminal through system information (par.[0074] describes the base station, as shown in fig.1, transmitting SIB which indicates uplink and downlink EDT thresholds, (e.g. Transport Block Sizes) that are acceptable for EDT);
transmitting information indicating a DL SDT reception operation to the terminal (par.[0076] and fig.8 element S102 describes the UE detecting a trigger for RACH, e.g. an EDT procedure, such as paging from the network);
receiving a response to the information indicating the DL SDT reception operation from the terminal (fig.8 or fig.9 wherein the UE transmits a RACH preamble to the network in order to being the RACH EDT procedure); and
transmitting a DL SDT packet to the terminal (MSG4 EDT reception as discussed in par.[0157] and par.[0077]), wherein the response is transmitted when the terminal determines to initiate the DL SDT reception operation (fig.8 wherein the UE starts the RACH procedure for SDT when the UE decides that EDT is applicable, par.[0006] discloses that the preamble is specific to EDT), based on the information indicating the DL SDT reception operation (fig.8 element S102 describes the trigger for RACH procedure, which includes a paging indication on the downlink from the network), and
wherein DL SDT-related configuration information includes at least one of:
information on a threshold value for determining whether a DL SDT operation is possible, DL SDT operation bandwidth part (BWP) configuration information, DL SDT operation control channel resource set (CORESET) configuration information, DL SDT execution indication information, DL SDT validity timer, or DL SDT operation period (the UE receives the configuration comprising at least the threshold value as discussed in fig.8 and par.[0074]).
While the disclosure of Fujishiro substantially discloses the claimed subject matter, it does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the DL SDT-related configuration information includes information on an reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold value for determining whether a DL SDT operation is possible, and
wherein the determining of whether to initiate the DL SDT reception operation is performed based on comparison between the RSRP threshold value and an RSRP of a radio link between the base station and the terminal.
The office notes that using the RSRP to determine whether UL/DL SDT can be performed was known in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application. For example, the disclosure of Alfarhan, which is an analogous art, discloses: wherein the DL SDT-related configuration information includes information on an reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold value for determining whether a DL SDT operation is possible (par.[0003] describes the Wireless Transmit and Receive Unit (WTRU) receiving configuration information from the network. The configuration includes multiple thresholds for example, a downlink data size, par.[0108] describes a CG for DL small data may be utilized based on the data size. Additionally, the disclosure teaches an RSRP threshold in par.[0109] wherein the UE may receive an RSRP threshold for DL small data transmission), and
wherein the determining of whether to initiate the DL SDT reception operation is performed based on comparison between the RSRP threshold value and an RSRP of a radio link between the base station and the terminal (par.[0109] describes the UE receiving an reference signal from the base station based on the RSRP of the reference signal determining whether or not to perform the DL SDT transmission, see e.g. “The WTRU may monitor for DL assignments on a configured grant for small data reception if the measured channel condition is within the configure range or less than the threshold.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Fujishiro for determining when to perform DL small data transmission, with the disclosure of Alfarhan which addresses the deficiencies in Fujishiro as it pertains to when to perform downlink small data transmission. The motivation/suggestion would have been that, for small data to be performed accurately a threshold signaling power is needed between the base station and the WTRU in order to effectively transmit and/or receive small data between the WTRU and the network. Additionally, it is common in the art for RSRP threshold measurements to used for determining when SDT should or should not be performed.
While the disclosure of Fujishiro and Alfarhan, and in particular Fujishiro teaches reception of wherein the information indicating the DL SDT reception operation is received as being included in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) which is monitored and received (fig.8 element S102 wherein the UE receives the paging message. It is known that paging is sent on PDCCH, see associated disclosure).
However, the disclosure of Fujishiro and Alfarhan does not teach:
(PDCCH) monitored and received in a time region according to a semi- persistent scheduling (SPS) periodicity indicated by the DL SDT-related configuration information or a discontinuous reception (DRX) operation cycle.
However, it was well-known prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to receive a PDDCH during a certain period in a DRX cycle or during certain occasions reflecting the periodicity of a semi-persistent schedule. For example, in an analogous art the disclosure of Kim teaches:
(PDCCH) monitored and received in a time region according to a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) periodicity indicated by the DL SDT-related configuration information or a discontinuous reception (DRX) operation cycle (par.[0259 and 0267] describe the paging being transmitted on PDCCH associated in the PDR. The PDR which is an SPS or preconfigured downlink resource).
wherein the PDCCH is received using a predefined paging scheduling identifier or a scheduling identifier assigned to the terminal through the DL SDT-related configuration information (Additionally, the disclosure of Kim teaches paging scheduling identifier which are predefined, see e.g. par.[0259 and 0267]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Fujishiro and Alfarhan for providing a paging message, with the disclosure of Kim for providing the paging message on a SPS downlink resource. The motivation/suggestion would have been that providing a preconfigured or semi-persistent resource the signaling can be performed and the nodes can operate according to the signaling without having to consistently reconfigure the resource reducing the overall signaling overhead.
While the disclosure of Fujishiro, Alfarhan, and Kim teaches:
reception of a RACH configuration wherein the RACH configured is used for small data transmission. Additionally, the disclosures of Fujishiro and Alfarhan teaches the transmission of a paging message to the UE to indicate intention for SDT. While the disclosure of Fujishiro and Alfarhan substantially discloses the claimed invention, it does not disclose:
before the transmitting of the response, determining whether the terminal needs to perform a procedure for maintaining uplink synchronization with the base station or whether uplink synchronization is valid; and
in response to determining that the procedure for maintaining uplink synchronization with the base station needs to be performed, performing a random access (RA) procedure to the base station or transmitting an uplink signal for acquiring uplink synchronization with the base station to the base station by using an uplink radio resource indicated by the information indicating the DL SDT reception operation.
However, determining whether the Timing Advance for the station with the cell it is currently camped is a necessary and well-known procedure in the art. For example, the disclosure of Zhang teaches:
before the transmitting of the response (fig.2 discloses that the UE receives a paging message from the network. The paging message comprising an indication of downlink data), determining whether the terminal needs to perform a procedure for maintaining uplink synchronization with the base station or whether uplink synchronization is valid (fig.2 element 202 and par.[0091] describes the UE in response to the MSG1 receiving a MSG2 e.g. a RAR with Timing Advance Uplink Synchronization information. Wherein RACH MSG1 or MSGA is used for obtaining TA or uplink synchronization, which is included in the case that the UE needs uplink synchronization otherwise it isn’t, see par.[0091] which recites, in part, “an uplink timing (TA) used for the uplink synchronization,……. and/or in a case that the uplink synchronization needs to be performed”. That is, the UE will perform RACH, which is known for affecting uplink synchronization, and receive the TA for uplink synchronization in an MSG2):
in response to determining that the procedure for maintaining uplink synchronization with the base station needs to be performed, performing a random access (RA) procedure to the base station or transmitting an uplink signal for acquiring uplink synchronization with the base station to the base station by using an uplink radio resource indicated by the information indicating the DL SDT reception operation (par.[0064 – 0066] which describes that the UE receives the paging message and constructs the MSG1 in accordance to the paging message. That is, the MSG1 is based on the resource information in the paging message. Par.[0081 and 0091] as discussed above, as it pertains to “needs to be performed”, the needs requires some determination at the UE prior to the transmission of the MSG1 by the UE as discussed in fig.2 and fig.3 see MSG1 (reply information)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Fujishiro and Alfarhan for providing a paging message, with the disclosure of Kim for providing the paging message on a SPS downlink resource, with the disclosure of Zhang. The motivation/suggestion would have been that providing a reply with a plurality of information and receiving a MSG2 which is a reply to MSG1 with a plurality of information reduces the signaling overhead, (see Zhang par.[0091]).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujishiro, Alfarhan, Kim, and Zhang, as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Lin et al. (US 2020/0053795 A1).
Regarding claim 10, Fujishiro, Alfarhan, Kim, and Zhang discloses transmitting HARQ feedback related to the downlink early data transmission and wherein the control information includes at least one of a result of measuring a quality of a radio channel between the base station and the terminal (see e.g. above rejection). While the disclosure of Fujishiro and Alfarhan substantially discloses the independent claims, it does not disclose:
a channel quality indicator (CQI) for downlink scheduling between the base station and the terminal, information indicating whether uplink data occurs, assistant information of the terminal, preference information of the terminal, or combinations thereof.
However, the technique for providing control information from the UE to the network was known in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application. For example the disclosure of Lin teaches:
wherein the control information includes at least one of a result of measuring a quality of a radio channel between the base station and the terminal, a channel quality indicator (CQI) for downlink scheduling between the base station and the terminal, information indicating whether uplink data occurs, assistant information of the terminal, preference information of the terminal, or combinations thereof (fig.2 wherein the UE receives Early Downlink Data (EDD) and the UE may respond with a Scheduling Request, and may also comprise HARQ par.[0040 and 0065]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Fujishiro, Alfarhan, Kim, and Zhang for providing downlink early data, with the disclosure of Lin for providing HARQ feedback to the early data along with control information. The motivation/suggestion would have been to combine messages reducing signaling overhead.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Lee et al. (US 2019/0037447 A1) “Method and Apparatus for Performing EDT”
Huawei, “Early Data Transmission for the CP Solution” Doc Code R2-1708300 dated August 2017.
CATT “DL Small Data Transmission in Inactive State” Doc Code R2-167955, November 2016.
Huawei, “Enhanced UP Solution for Early Data Transmission in MTC”, Doc Code R2-1709335, Dated August 2017.
Ratasuk et al. (US 2022/0394775 A1) “Method and Apparatus for Switching of Data Transmission Between Radio Access Technologies for Early Data Transmission”
Chin et al. (US 2022/0377800 A1) “User Equipment and Method for Small Data Transmission”
Jiang (US 2024/0244611 A1) “Data Transmission Method and Apparatus, and Communication Device”
You et al. (US 2024/0080699 A1) “SDT Failure Reporting Method, Terminal Device, and Network Device”
Shrestha et al. (WO 2020/069103 A1) “System and Methods for Enabling DL-EDT”
Agiwal et al. (US 2021/0211947 A1) “Method and Apparatus for Performing Communciation in Wireless Communciation System” (par.[0241, 0309 – 0311, 0344, 0353, 0357, 0366, 0375, 0388]).
Kim et al. (US 2023/0045501 A1) “Method and Apparatus for Effectively Transmitting Data of Small Size in Next-Generation Mobile Communication System”
Liu et al. (US 2022/0256618 A1) “Mobile-Originated Data over Dedicated Preconfigured Uplink Resource While in an Idle Mode or in an Inactive Mode”
Fong et al. (US 2013/0272148 A1) “Small Data Communications in a Wireless Communication Network”
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JAMAAL HENSON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2411
/JAMAAL HENSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411