Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
A. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In view of preliminary amendment filed February 3, 2023, claims 1-17, 19, 21-25 and 27 have been considered.
Priority
B. Applicant claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/062,020, filed on August 06, 2020. The content thereof is incorporated into the pending application (18/019,503) by reference. To the extent that features of the claimed subject matter of the pending application (18/019,503) is disclosed in the provisional application (63/062,020), said features will be evaluated with the provisional application’s priority date. To the extent that features of the claimed subject matter of the pending application are not disclosed in the provisional application, but are disclosed in the pending application, said features will be evaluated with the pending application’s priority date.
A citation of a prior art reference with a given date occurring before a given claimed priority date is not an acknowledgement by the Examiner that a given feature of the claims that the citation is relevant to is entitled to the benefit of a given claimed priority date.
Information Disclosure Statement
C. The IDS received February 3, 2023 has been considered and the references included therein have been reviewed.
Claim Analysis - 35 USC § 101
D. 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
The pending claims are directed to eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. 101 as a process (Preliminary Amendment Claims 1-16 and 21-24) and manufacture (Preliminary Amendment Claims 17, 19, 25, and 27). When viewed as a whole, the eligibility of the pending claims is self-evident.
Claim Objections
E. One or more claim herein are objected to for informalities:
Claim 1 recites “upon discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer”. The “PDCP timer” is likely intended to be “PDCP discard timer”. Please make appropriate corrections. Claims 16, 20, 21, 25, and 27 include similar claim language which must be rectified.
Claim 10 recites “activating PDCP packet duplication or one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs”. The Examiner believes that the first “or” should be “of”, e.g., “duplication [[or]] of one or more additional PDCP packet”. Claims 6-8 and 11-13 include similar language. Please make the appropriate corrections.
Claim 16 recites “deactivating the activated feature comprises deactivating the activated feature responsive to expiry of a timer”. It is unclear whether the recited “a timer” references “the timer”, “another timer”, or “one or more of the timer or another timer”. Please make the appropriate corrections.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
F The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, 17, 19, 21, 25, and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 17 and 25 are directed to an apparatus, however, it is unclear which subcomponent is performing aspects of the various claimed features. For example, para. [0021] discloses “In one embodiment, a wireless communication device comprises one or more transmitters, one or more receivers, and processing circuitry associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers” but does not define in the claims which aspects of said circuitry perform various claimed features. Similarly, para. [0027] discloses “In one embodiment, a base station comprises processing circuitry configured to cause the base station to provide a timer related to survival time to a wireless communication device, the survival time being an amount of time that an application consuming a communication service may continue without an anticipated message” but does not define in the claims which aspects of said circuitry perform various claimed features. Therefore, the meets and bounds of structural aspects of these apparatus claims are unclear. Appropriate corrections are necessary.
Claims 1, 17, 19, 21, 25, and 27 recite “a communication service may continue without an anticipated message”. The term “may” renders the claim indefinite. The Examiner recommends amending the language, e.g., “a communication service continues without an anticipated message”. Appropriate corrections are necessary.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
G. 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.
Claims 1-2, 4-6, 11, 13-17, 19, 21-25, and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over US 20230076524 A1 (Fujishiro, hereinafter “D1”) in view of US 20220377829 A1 (Kim et al., hereinafter “D2”).
D1 discloses: 1. (Currently Amended) A method (D1 Abstract: “communication control method controls wireless communication […] in a mobile communication system”) performed by a wireless communication device (D1 [0022]: “As illustrated in FIG. 1, the mobile communication system includes a user equipment (UE) 100”. D1 [0023]: “The UE 100 is a mobile wireless communication apparatus.”), comprising: obtaining a timer (D1 [0053]: “the communication apparatus 1 is the UE 100”. D1 [0068]: “the communication apparatus 1 starts the timer configured with the time threshold (valid period).” Examiner Notes: D1’s timer must be “obtained” to be started.) related to survival time, (D1 [0063]: “The time threshold may be equal to or greater than the survival time.”) the survival time being an amount of time that an application consuming a communication service may continue without an anticipated message; (D1 [0062]: “the survival time refers to the time during which the application can continue the communication service even when no communication is expected.”) [and autonomously activating a feature based on the timer, the feature being Packet Data Convergence Protocol, PDCP, packet duplication, one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs in a case where PDCP packet duplication is already activated, or another mechanism that increases reliability of packet transmission;] where the timer is a PDCP discard timer, (D1 [0069]: “the communication apparatus 1 starts the timer when the target packet enters the predetermined layer […] the predetermined layer is the […] the PDCP layer.” D1 [0105]: “if the timer started in step S1 expires […] the subsequent packet is not to be transmitted from the communication apparatus 1 (i.e., that the target packet has been discarded”) [and autonomously activating the feature based on the timer comprises autonomously activating the feature upon] discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer. (D1 [0105]: “if the timer started in step S1 expires […] the predetermined [PDCP] layer […] may notify a different layer […] that the target packet has been discarded in the communication apparatus 1.” D1 [0059]-[0060]: “communication apparatus 1 discards a packet of which the residence time exceeds the time threshold, without transmitting the packet. Here, the discard of a packet may mean removing the packet from a buffer. […] This makes it easy to curb the degradation of the real-time performance, allowing the service quality to be improved.”)
Examiner Notes: Under the Broadest Reasonable Interpretation (BRI) standard, D1 discloses activating a feature (D1 [0059]-[0060]: “communication apparatus 1 discards a packet”) based on the timer (D1 [0059]-[0060]: “communication apparatus 1 discards a packet of which the residence time exceeds the time threshold, without transmitting the packet. Here, the discard of a packet may mean removing the packet from a buffer.”) the feature being another mechanism that increases reliability of packet transmission. (D1 [0059]-[0060]: “communication apparatus 1 discards a packet of which the residence time exceeds the time threshold, without transmitting the packet. Here, the discard of a packet may mean removing the packet from a buffer. […] This makes it easy to curb the degradation of the real-time performance, allowing the service quality to be improved.”). Accordingly, D1 provides support for a scenario in which a second packet is discarded (e.g., a feature is activated) temporally subsequent to discarding of a first packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer, consistent with the limitations recited herein. However, the Examiner currently believes that mapping these features to D2’s (below) PDCP packet duplication feature could result in an improved rejection and has done so in furtherance of the standard of compact prosecution.
The cited aspects of D1 do not appear to explicitly disclose, however, D2, in the same field of endeavor (e.g., D2 Abstract: “performing communication by using a plurality of Radio Link Control (RLC) entities in a wireless communication system”) discloses autonomously activating a feature based on the timer, (D2 [0297] “when a timer for selective duplication is set or a timer for determining whether to release duplication transmission is set, the PDCP entity may start the timer.”) the feature being Packet Data Convergence Protocol, PDCP, packet duplication, [one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs in a case where PDCP packet duplication is already activated, or another mechanism that increases reliability of packet transmission;] (D2 [0009]: “According to embodiments disclosed herein, it is possible to efficiently control activation of a plurality of Radio Link Control (RLC) layers of a user equipment (UE)”. D2 [0064]: “In the disclosure, the BS may configure the packet duplication technology for the UE by applying the DC technology or the CA technology via an RRC message. In detail, the BS may configure a plurality of RLC entities connected to one Medium Access Control (MAC) entity, and may configure the plurality of RLC entities to be connected to one PDCP entity and to perform packet duplication.”) […] and autonomously activating the feature based on the timer comprises autonomously activating the feature upon discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer. (D2 [0096]-[0104]: “Main functions of the PDCP entity are summarized as shown below. […] Timer-based SDU discard in uplink”. D2 [0296]: “When the PDCP entity obtains (or receives) an indication from the MAC entity, the indication […] may indicate the deactivated RLC entity to discard all data and stop packet duplication transmission to the deactivated RLC entity.” D2 [0297]: “Also, when the PDCP entity receives an indication from the MAC entity, the indication indicating that a certain RLC entity is activated, the PDCP entity may re-perform packet duplication on the activated RLC entity, and when a timer for selective duplication is set or a timer for determining whether to release duplication transmission is set, the PDCP entity may start the timer”. Examiner Notes: The claims require the feature (of PDCP packet duplication) to be activated temporally subsequent to a discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer. D2 discloses a first indication may cause data packets to be discarded, and that another indication may indicate to duplicate a packet. D1 also discloses timer-based packet discarding and further explains the benefits thereof. The cited aspects of D1 and D2 do not appear to temporally limit their respective disclosures of packet discarding to only occurring before or after a given packet duplication feature.)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
D1 discloses: 2. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 1 (See rejection of Claim 1, above) wherein the PDCP discard timer value is configured with a value equal to the Packet Delay Budget, PDB. (D1 [0063]: “the time threshold may be equal to or greater than the packet delay budget, and may be equal to or less than the survival time.”)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
D1 discloses: 4. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 1 (See the rejection of Claim 1, above) [wherein a PDCP packet duplication leg is] a Radio Link Control, RLC, [entity to which PDCP duplication is activated]. (D1 (e.g., [0073]) disclose “RLC layer determines, based on RLC ACK, whether the target packet (RLC PDU) has arrived at the communication apparatus”)
The cited aspects of D1 do not appear to explicitly disclose, however, D2, in the same field of endeavor (e.g., D2 Abstract: “performing communication by using a plurality of Radio Link Control (RLC) entities in a wireless communication system”) discloses “a PDCP packet duplication leg is a Radio Link Control, RLC, entity to which PDCP duplication is activated.” (D2 [0297]: “PDCP entity may re-perform packet duplication on the activated RLC entity, and when a timer for selective duplication is set […] the PDCP entity may start the timer.”)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
D2 discloses: 5. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting one or more packets using the activated feature. (D2 [0088]: “As proposed in the disclosure, in a case where a plurality of RLC entities connected to a PDCP entity for which the packet duplication technology is configured are configured for a same MAC entity and then the packet duplication technology is applied based on the CA technology, the RLC entities may have a cell mapping limit by which the RLC entities are mapped to different PCells, PSCells, or SCells, respectively, and transmit duplicate data.” D2 [0299]: “when the BS configures a plurality of RLC entities for each bearer (or the PDCP entity) for which the packet duplication technology is configured, the BS may configure which cell or frequency is used to transmit duplicate data”.)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
D1 discloses: 6. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 1 wherein autonomously activating the feature (See rejection of Claim 1, above) [comprises autonomously activating PDCP packet duplication or one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs.]
The cited aspects of D1 do not appear to explicitly disclose, however, D2, in the same field of endeavor (e.g., D2 Abstract: “performing communication by using a plurality of Radio Link Control (RLC) entities in a wireless communication system”) discloses “autonomously activating the feature comprises autonomously activating PDCP packet duplication or one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs.” (D2 [0297]: “when the PDCP entity receives an indication […] that a certain RLC entity is activated, the PDCP entity may re-perform packet duplication on the activated RLC entity”)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
D1 and D2 disclose: 11. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 6 wherein autonomously activating PDCP packet duplication or one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs (See the rejection of Claim 6, above) comprises autonomously activating PDCP packet duplication or one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs based on priorities associated to PDCP packet duplication legs. (D2 [0163]-[0169]: “NR MAC entity may be connected to a plurality of NR RLC entities configured for one UE, and main functions of the NR MAC entity may include some of the following functions. […] Priority handling between logical channels of one UE [0169] Priority handling between UEs by means of dynamic scheduling”. D2 [0303]: “when the PDCP entity receives an indication from the MAC entity, the indication indicating that a certain RLC entity is activated, the PDCP entity may re-perform packet duplication on the RLC entity, and when a timer for selective duplication is set or a timer for determining whether to release duplication transmission is set, the PDCP entity may start the timer for selective duplication or the timer for determining whether to release duplication transmission.” Examiner Notes: D2 [0303] discloses PDCP duplication based on MAC and RLC entities, and [0163]-[0169] disclose priority handling via RLC and MAC entities. Accordingly, D2’s PDCP duplication is based on priorities associated with PDCP duplication).
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
D2 discloses: 13. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 6 wherein autonomously activating PDCP packet duplication or one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs (See the rejection of Claim 6, above) comprises autonomously activating PDCP packet duplication using a PDCP packet duplication leg that is a fallback for split radio bearer operation. (D2 [0291]: “the UE may stop packet duplication with respect to the bearer that performs packet duplication transmission, and may perform fallback by which the bearer operates as the split bearer of the DC technology and thus transmits data by distributing a plurality of pieces of different data to different RLC entities (the primary RLC entity and the secondary RLC entity) so as to improve a data rate.”)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
D2 discloses: 14. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 1 further comprising deactivating the activated feature. (D2 [0278]: “That is, the number of packet duplications to be performed on the bearer for which the packet duplication technology is configured, or the number of secondary RLC entities to be configured may be determined due to configuration via an RRC message as shown in FIG. 1E, and the MAC CE may indicate to activate or deactivate all of the secondary RLC entities connected to a bearer for which packet duplication is configured.” D2 [0208]: “In the disclosure, as in FIG. 1H, when a plurality of RLC entities (or logical channel identifiers) are configured for the UE for which the packet duplication transmission technology is configured, provided are methods of dynamically activating (or indicating to perform duplicate transmission) some RLC entities 1h-05, 1h-20, 1h-25, and 1h-35 from among the plurality of configured RLC entities or deactivating (or indicating to stop duplicate transmission) some RLC entities 1h-10, 1h-15, 1h-30, and 1h-40.”)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
D2 discloses: 15. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 14 wherein deactivating the activated feature comprises deactivating the activated feature in response to signaling from a network node. (D2 [0278]: “That is, the number of packet duplications to be performed on the bearer for which the packet duplication technology is configured, or the number of secondary RLC entities to be configured may be determined due to configuration via an RRC message as shown in FIG. 1E, and the MAC CE may indicate to activate or deactivate all of the secondary RLC entities connected to a bearer for which packet duplication is configured.” D2 [0208]: “In the disclosure, as in FIG. 1H, when a plurality of RLC entities (or logical channel identifiers) are configured for the UE for which the packet duplication transmission technology is configured, provided are methods of dynamically activating (or indicating to perform duplicate transmission) some RLC entities 1h-05, 1h-20, 1h-25, and 1h-35 from among the plurality of configured RLC entities or deactivating (or indicating to stop duplicate transmission) some RLC entities 1h-10, 1h-15, 1h-30, and 1h-40.” D2 [0204]: “In FIG. 1F, the BS may configure the packet duplication technology for the UE by applying the CA technology via an RRC message (1f-01).”)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
D2 discloses: 16. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 14 wherein deactivating the activated feature comprises deactivating the activated feature responsive to expiry of a timer. (D2 [0314]: “When the timer expires, the PDCP entity or the MAC entity of the UE may deactivate each RLC entity of a bearer for which the packet duplication transmission technology is configured and which corresponds to the timer.”)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
D1 discloses: 17. (Currently Amended) A wireless communication device (D1 [0022]: “As illustrated in FIG. 1, the mobile communication system includes a user equipment (UE) 100”. D1 [0023]: “The UE 100 is a mobile wireless communication apparatus.”) adapted to: obtain a timer (D1 [0053]: “the communication apparatus 1 is the UE 100”. D1 [0068]: “the communication apparatus 1 starts the timer configured with the time threshold (valid period).” Examiner Notes: D1’s timer must be “obtained” to be started.) related to survival time, (D1 [0063]: “The time threshold may be equal to or greater than the survival time.”) the survival time being an amount of time that an application consuming a communication service may continue without an anticipated message; (D1 [0062]: “the survival time refers to the time during which the application can continue the communication service even when no communication is expected.”) [and autonomously activating a feature based on the timer, the feature being Packet Data Convergence Protocol, PDCP, packet duplication, one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs in a case where PDCP packet duplication is already activated, or another mechanism that increases reliability of packet transmission;] where the timer is a PDCP discard timer, (D1 [0069]: “the communication apparatus 1 starts the timer when the target packet enters the predetermined layer […] the predetermined layer is the […] the PDCP layer.” D1 [0105]: “if the timer started in step S1 expires […] the subsequent packet is not to be transmitted from the communication apparatus 1 (i.e., that the target packet has been discarded”) [and autonomously activating the feature based on the timer comprises autonomously activating the feature upon] discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer. (D1 [0105]: “if the timer started in step S1 expires […] the predetermined [PDCP] layer […] may notify a different layer […] that the target packet has been discarded in the communication apparatus 1.” D1 [0059]-[0060]: “communication apparatus 1 discards a packet of which the residence time exceeds the time threshold, without transmitting the packet. Here, the discard of a packet may mean removing the packet from a buffer. […] This makes it easy to curb the degradation of the real-time performance, allowing the service quality to be improved.”)
Examiner Notes: Under the Broadest Reasonable Interpretation (BRI) standard, D1 discloses activating a feature (D1 [0059]-[0060]: “communication apparatus 1 discards a packet”) based on the timer (D1 [0059]-[0060]: “communication apparatus 1 discards a packet of which the residence time exceeds the time threshold, without transmitting the packet. Here, the discard of a packet may mean removing the packet from a buffer.”) the feature being another mechanism that increases reliability of packet transmission. (D1 [0059]-[0060]: “communication apparatus 1 discards a packet of which the residence time exceeds the time threshold, without transmitting the packet. Here, the discard of a packet may mean removing the packet from a buffer. […] This makes it easy to curb the degradation of the real-time performance, allowing the service quality to be improved.”). Accordingly, D1 provides support for a scenario in which a second packet is discarded (e.g., a feature is activated) temporally subsequent to discarding of a first packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer, consistent with the limitations recited herein. However, the Examiner currently believes that mapping these features to D2’s (below) PDCP packet duplication feature could result in an improved rejection and has done so in furtherance of the standard of compact prosecution.
The cited aspects of D1 do not appear to explicitly disclose, however, D2, in the same field of endeavor (e.g., D2 Abstract: “performing communication by using a plurality of Radio Link Control (RLC) entities in a wireless communication system”) discloses autonomously activating a feature based on the timer, (D2 [0297] “when a timer for selective duplication is set or a timer for determining whether to release duplication transmission is set, the PDCP entity may start the timer.”) the feature being Packet Data Convergence Protocol, PDCP, packet duplication, [one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs in a case where PDCP packet duplication is already activated, or another mechanism that increases reliability of packet transmission;] (D2 [0009]: “According to embodiments disclosed herein, it is possible to efficiently control activation of a plurality of Radio Link Control (RLC) layers of a user equipment (UE)”. D2 [0064]: “In the disclosure, the BS may configure the packet duplication technology for the UE by applying the DC technology or the CA technology via an RRC message. In detail, the BS may configure a plurality of RLC entities connected to one Medium Access Control (MAC) entity, and may configure the plurality of RLC entities to be connected to one PDCP entity and to perform packet duplication.”) […] and autonomously activating the feature based on the timer comprises autonomously activating the feature upon discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer. (D2 [0096]-[0104]: “Main functions of the PDCP entity are summarized as shown below. […] Timer-based SDU discard in uplink”. D2 [0296]: “When the PDCP entity obtains (or receives) an indication from the MAC entity, the indication […] may indicate the deactivated RLC entity to discard all data and stop packet duplication transmission to the deactivated RLC entity.” D2 [0297]: “Also, when the PDCP entity receives an indication from the MAC entity, the indication indicating that a certain RLC entity is activated, the PDCP entity may re-perform packet duplication on the activated RLC entity, and when a timer for selective duplication is set or a timer for determining whether to release duplication transmission is set, the PDCP entity may start the timer”. Examiner Notes: The claims require the feature (of PDCP packet duplication) to be activated temporally subsequent to a discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer. D2 discloses a first indication may cause data packets to be discarded, and that another indication may indicate to duplicate a packet. D1 also discloses timer-based packet discarding and further explains the benefits thereof. The cited aspects of D1 and D2 do not appear to temporally limit their respective disclosures of packet discarding to only occurring before or after a given packet duplication feature.)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
D1 discloses: 19. (Currently Amended) A wireless communication device (D1 [0022]: “As illustrated in FIG. 1, the mobile communication system includes a user equipment (UE) 100”. D1 [0023]: “The UE 100 is a mobile wireless communication apparatus.”) comprising: one or more transmitters; one or more receivers; and processing circuitry associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers, (D1 [0028]: “As illustrated in FIG. 2, the UE 100 includes a receiver 110, a transmitter 120, and a controller 130”. D1 [0031]: “The controller 130 includes at least one processor and at least one memory.”) the processing circuitry configured to cause the wireless communication device to: (D1 [0031]: “The CPU executes the programs stored in the memory to perform various types of processes.”) obtain a timer (D1 [0053]: “the communication apparatus 1 is the UE 100”. D1 [0068]: “the communication apparatus 1 starts the timer configured with the time threshold (valid period).” Examiner Notes: D1’s timer must be “obtained” to be started.) related to survival time, (D1 [0063]: “The time threshold may be equal to or greater than the survival time.”) the survival time being an amount of time that an application consuming a communication service may continue without an anticipated message; (D1 [0062]: “the survival time refers to the time during which the application can continue the communication service even when no communication is expected.”) [and autonomously activating a feature based on the timer, the feature being Packet Data Convergence Protocol, PDCP, packet duplication, one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs in a case where PDCP packet duplication is already activated, or another mechanism that increases reliability of packet transmission;] where the timer is a PDCP discard timer, (D1 [0069]: “the communication apparatus 1 starts the timer when the target packet enters the predetermined layer […] the predetermined layer is the […] the PDCP layer.” D1 [0105]: “if the timer started in step S1 expires […] the subsequent packet is not to be transmitted from the communication apparatus 1 (i.e., that the target packet has been discarded”) [and autonomously activating the feature based on the timer comprises the processing circuitry being configured to cause the wireless communication device to autonomously activate the feature upon] discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer. (D1 [0105]: “if the timer started in step S1 expires […] the predetermined [PDCP] layer […] may notify a different layer […] that the target packet has been discarded in the communication apparatus 1.” D1 [0059]-[0060]: “communication apparatus 1 discards a packet of which the residence time exceeds the time threshold, without transmitting the packet. Here, the discard of a packet may mean removing the packet from a buffer. […] This makes it easy to curb the degradation of the real-time performance, allowing the service quality to be improved.”)
Examiner Notes: Under the Broadest Reasonable Interpretation (BRI) standard, D1 discloses activating a feature (D1 [0059]-[0060]: “communication apparatus 1 discards a packet”) based on the timer (D1 [0059]-[0060]: “communication apparatus 1 discards a packet of which the residence time exceeds the time threshold, without transmitting the packet. Here, the discard of a packet may mean removing the packet from a buffer.”) the feature being another mechanism that increases reliability of packet transmission. (D1 [0059]-[0060]: “communication apparatus 1 discards a packet of which the residence time exceeds the time threshold, without transmitting the packet. Here, the discard of a packet may mean removing the packet from a buffer. […] This makes it easy to curb the degradation of the real-time performance, allowing the service quality to be improved.”). Accordingly, D1 provides support for a scenario in which a second packet is discarded (e.g., a feature is activated) temporally subsequent to discarding of a first packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer, consistent with the limitations recited herein. However, the Examiner currently believes that mapping these features to D2’s (below) PDCP packet duplication feature could result in an improved rejection and has done so in furtherance of the standard of compact prosecution.
The cited aspects of D1 do not appear to explicitly disclose, however, D2, in the same field of endeavor (e.g., D2 Abstract: “performing communication by using a plurality of Radio Link Control (RLC) entities in a wireless communication system”) discloses autonomously activating a feature based on the timer, (D2 [0297] “when a timer for selective duplication is set or a timer for determining whether to release duplication transmission is set, the PDCP entity may start the timer.”) the feature being Packet Data Convergence Protocol, PDCP, packet duplication, [one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs in a case where PDCP packet duplication is already activated, or another mechanism that increases reliability of packet transmission;] (D2 [0009]: “According to embodiments disclosed herein, it is possible to efficiently control activation of a plurality of Radio Link Control (RLC) layers of a user equipment (UE)”. D2 [0064]: “In the disclosure, the BS may configure the packet duplication technology for the UE by applying the DC technology or the CA technology via an RRC message. In detail, the BS may configure a plurality of RLC entities connected to one Medium Access Control (MAC) entity, and may configure the plurality of RLC entities to be connected to one PDCP entity and to perform packet duplication.”) […] and autonomously activating the feature based on the timer comprises autonomously activating the feature upon discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer. (D2 [0096]-[0104]: “Main functions of the PDCP entity are summarized as shown below. […] Timer-based SDU discard in uplink”. D2 [0296]: “When the PDCP entity obtains (or receives) an indication from the MAC entity, the indication […] may indicate the deactivated RLC entity to discard all data and stop packet duplication transmission to the deactivated RLC entity.” D2 [0297]: “Also, when the PDCP entity receives an indication from the MAC entity, the indication indicating that a certain RLC entity is activated, the PDCP entity may re-perform packet duplication on the activated RLC entity, and when a timer for selective duplication is set or a timer for determining whether to release duplication transmission is set, the PDCP entity may start the timer”. Examiner Notes: The claims require the feature (of PDCP packet duplication) to be activated temporally subsequent to a discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer. D2 discloses a first indication may cause data packets to be discarded, and that another indication may indicate to duplicate a packet. D1 also discloses timer-based packet discarding and further explains the benefits thereof. The cited aspects of D1 and D2 do not appear to temporally limit their respective disclosures of packet discarding to only occurring before or after a given packet duplication feature.)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
D1 discloses: 21. (Currently Amended) A method (D1 Abstract: “communication control method controls wireless communication of a packet from a first communication apparatus to a second communication apparatus in a mobile communication system”) performed by a base station (D1 [0022]: “As illustrated in FIG. 1, the mobile communication system includes a user equipment (UE) 100, a 5G radio access network (next generation radio access network (NG-RAN)) 10, and a 5G core network (5GC) 20.” D1 [0024]: “NG-RAN 10 includes base stations (referred to as “gNBs” in the 5G system) 200”) comprising: providing a timer related to survival time to a wireless communication device, (D1 [0024]: “The gNB 200 has […] a measurement control function for […] scheduling”. D1 [0093]: “the communication apparatus 1 transmits a packet to the communication apparatus 2 at a predetermined time interval. For example, the communication apparatus 1 transmits a certain number of packets to the communication apparatus 2 at a constant periodicity, as in voice communication using Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS).” D1 [0059]-[0060]: “communication apparatus 1 discards a packet of which the residence time exceeds the time threshold, without transmitting the packet. Here, the discard of a packet may mean removing the packet from a buffer.” D1 [0063]: “The time threshold may be equal to or greater than the survival time.”) the survival time being an amount of time that an application consuming a communication service may continue without an anticipated message; (D1 [0062]: “the survival time refers to the time during which the application can continue the communication service even when no communication is expected.”) [and providing, to the wireless communication device, one or more parameters related to autonomous activation of a feature at the wireless communication device, the feature being Packet Detection Convergence Protocol, PDCP, packet duplication, one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs in a case where PDCP packet duplication is already activated, or some other mechanism that increases reliability of packet transmission;] where the timer is a PDCP discard timer, (D1 [0069]: “the communication apparatus 1 starts the timer when the target packet enters the predetermined layer […] the predetermined layer is the […] the PDCP layer.” D1 [0105]: “if the timer started in step S1 expires […] the subsequent packet is not to be transmitted from the communication apparatus 1 (i.e., that the target packet has been discarded”) [and autonomous activation of the feature based on the timer comprises autonomously activating the feature upon] discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer. (D1 [0105]: “if the timer started in step S1 expires […] the predetermined [PDCP] layer […] may notify a different layer […] that the target packet has been discarded in the communication apparatus 1.” D1 [0059]-[0060]: “communication apparatus 1 discards a packet of which the residence time exceeds the time threshold, without transmitting the packet. Here, the discard of a packet may mean removing the packet from a buffer. […] This makes it easy to curb the degradation of the real-time performance, allowing the service quality to be improved.”)
The cited aspects of D1 do not appear to explicitly disclose, however, D2, in the same field of endeavor (e.g., D2 Abstract: “performing communication by using a plurality of Radio Link Control (RLC) entities in a wireless communication system”) discloses providing, to the wireless communication device, one or more parameters related to autonomous activation of a feature at the wireless communication device, the feature being Packet Detection Convergence Protocol, PDCP, packet duplication, [one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs in a case where PDCP packet duplication is already activated, or some other mechanism that increases reliability of packet transmission;] […] (D2 [0299]: “when the BS configures a plurality of RLC entities for each bearer (or the PDCP entity) for which the packet duplication technology is configured, the BS may configure which cell or frequency is used to transmit duplicate data to be processed and configured by each of the RLC entities, such that respective pieces of duplicate data may be transmitted via different cells and thus the BS and the UE may each have a multiplexing gain. Therefore, in the disclosure, the BS may configure mapping information for the UE via an RRC message so as to transmit data to each particular cell, the data being generated by a plurality of RLC entities connected to the PDCP entity for which the packet duplication technology is configured or the data corresponding to a logical channel identifier of each RLC entity.”) and autonomous activation of the feature based on the timer comprises autonomously activating the feature upon discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer. (D2 [0096]-[0104]: “Main functions of the PDCP entity are summarized as shown below. […] Timer-based SDU discard in uplink”. D2 [0296]: “When the PDCP entity obtains (or receives) an indication from the MAC entity, the indication […] may indicate the deactivated RLC entity to discard all data and stop packet duplication transmission to the deactivated RLC entity.” D2 [0297]: “Also, when the PDCP entity receives an indication from the MAC entity, the indication indicating that a certain RLC entity is activated, the PDCP entity may re-perform packet duplication on the activated RLC entity, and when a timer for selective duplication is set or a timer for determining whether to release duplication transmission is set, the PDCP entity may start the timer”. Examiner Notes: The claims require the feature (of PDCP packet duplication) to be activated temporally subsequent to a discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer. D2 discloses a first indication may cause data packets to be discarded, and that another indication may indicate to duplicate a packet. D1 also discloses timer-based packet discarding and further explains the benefits thereof. The cited aspects of D1 and D2 do not appear to temporally limit their respective disclosures of packet discarding to only occurring before or after a given packet duplication feature.)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
D1 discloses: 22. (Original) The method of claim 21 [wherein a PDCP packet duplication leg is] a Radio Link Control, RLC, [entity to which PDCP duplication is activated.] (D1 (e.g., [0073]) disclose “RLC layer determines, based on RLC ACK, whether the target packet (RLC PDU) has arrived at the communication apparatus”)
The cited aspects of D1 do not appear to explicitly disclose, however, D2, in the same field of endeavor (e.g., D2 Abstract: “performing communication by using a plurality of Radio Link Control (RLC) entities in a wireless communication system”) discloses “a PDCP packet duplication leg is a Radio Link Control, RLC, entity to which PDCP duplication is activated.” (D2 [0297]: “PDCP entity may re-perform packet duplication on the activated RLC entity, and when a timer for selective duplication is set […] the PDCP entity may start the timer.”)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
D2 discloses: 23. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 21 wherein the one or more parameters comprise information that identifies one or more PDCP packet duplication legs to be prioritized by the wireless communication device for autonomous PDCP activation or autonomous activation of one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs. (D2 [0163]-[0169]: “NR MAC entity may be connected to a plurality of NR RLC entities configured for one UE, and main functions of the NR MAC entity may include some of the following functions. […] Priority handling between logical channels of one UE [0169] Priority handling between UEs by means of dynamic scheduling”. D2 [0303]: “when the PDCP entity receives an indication from the MAC entity, the indication indicating that a certain RLC entity is activated, the PDCP entity may re-perform packet duplication on the RLC entity, and when a timer for selective duplication is set or a timer for determining whether to release duplication transmission is set, the PDCP entity may start the timer for selective duplication or the timer for determining whether to release duplication transmission.” Examiner Notes: D2 [0303] discloses PDCP duplication based on MAC and RLC entities, and [0163]-[0169] disclose priority handling via RLC and MAC entities.)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
D2 discloses: 24. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 21 wherein the one or more parameters (See the rejection of Claim 21, above) comprise information that indicates a number of PDCP packet duplication legs that can be activated by the wireless communication device for autonomous PDCP activation or autonomous activation of one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs. (D2 [0163]-[0169]: “NR MAC entity may be connected to a plurality of NR RLC entities configured for one UE, and main functions of the NR MAC entity may include some of the following functions. […] Priority handling between logical channels of one UE [0169] Priority handling between UEs by means of dynamic scheduling”. D2 [0303]: “when the PDCP entity receives an indication from the MAC entity, the indication indicating that a certain RLC entity is activated, the PDCP entity may re-perform packet duplication on the RLC entity, and when a timer for selective duplication is set or a timer for determining whether to release duplication transmission is set, the PDCP entity may start the timer for selective duplication or the timer for determining whether to release duplication transmission.” Examiner Notes: D2 [0303] discloses PDCP duplication based on MAC and RLC entities, and [0163]-[0169] disclose priority and scheduling handling via RLC and MAC entities. Accordingly, D2’s PDCP duplication may be based on a predefined number of PDCP duplication legs via the scheduling.)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
D1 discloses: 25. (Currently Amended) A base station (D1 [0022]: “As illustrated in FIG. 1, the mobile communication system includes a user equipment (UE) 100, a 5G radio access network (next generation radio access network (NG-RAN)) 10, and a 5G core network (5GC) 20.” D1 [0024]: “NG-RAN 10 includes base stations (referred to as “gNBs” in the 5G system) 200”) adapted to: provide a timer related to survival time to a wireless communication device, (D1 [0024]: “The gNB 200 has […] a measurement control function for […] scheduling”. D1 [0093]: “the communication apparatus 1 transmits a packet to the communication apparatus 2 at a predetermined time interval. For example, the communication apparatus 1 transmits a certain number of packets to the communication apparatus 2 at a constant periodicity, as in voice communication using Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS).” D1 [0059]-[0060]: “communication apparatus 1 discards a packet of which the residence time exceeds the time threshold, without transmitting the packet. Here, the discard of a packet may mean removing the packet from a buffer.” D1 [0063]: “The time threshold may be equal to or greater than the survival time.” Examiner Notes: The gNB provided schedule is equated to the base station provided timer.) the survival time being an amount of time that an application consuming a communication service may continue without an anticipated message; (D1 [0062]: “the survival time refers to the time during which the application can continue the communication service even when no communication is expected.”) [and providing, to the wireless communication device, one or more parameters related to autonomous activation of a feature at the wireless communication device, the feature being Packet Detection Convergence Protocol, PDCP, packet duplication, one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs in a case where PDCP packet duplication is already activated, or some other mechanism that increases reliability of packet transmission;] where the timer is a PDCP discard timer, (D1 [0069]: “the communication apparatus 1 starts the timer when the target packet enters the predetermined layer […] the predetermined layer is the […] the PDCP layer.” D1 [0105]: “if the timer started in step S1 expires […] the subsequent packet is not to be transmitted from the communication apparatus 1 (i.e., that the target packet has been discarded”) [and autonomous activation of the feature based on the timer comprises autonomously activating the feature upon] discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer. (D1 [0105]: “if the timer started in step S1 expires […] the predetermined [PDCP] layer […] may notify a different layer […] that the target packet has been discarded in the communication apparatus 1.” D1 [0059]-[0060]: “communication apparatus 1 discards a packet of which the residence time exceeds the time threshold, without transmitting the packet. Here, the discard of a packet may mean removing the packet from a buffer. […] This makes it easy to curb the degradation of the real-time performance, allowing the service quality to be improved.”)
The cited aspects of D1 do not appear to explicitly disclose, however, D2, in the same field of endeavor (e.g., D2 Abstract: “performing communication by using a plurality of Radio Link Control (RLC) entities in a wireless communication system”) discloses providing, to the wireless communication device, one or more parameters related to autonomous activation of a feature at the wireless communication device, the feature being Packet Detection Convergence Protocol, PDCP, packet duplication, [one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs in a case where PDCP packet duplication is already activated, or some other mechanism that increases reliability of packet transmission;] […] (D2 [0299]: “when the BS configures a plurality of RLC entities for each bearer (or the PDCP entity) for which the packet duplication technology is configured, the BS may configure which cell or frequency is used to transmit duplicate data to be processed and configured by each of the RLC entities, such that respective pieces of duplicate data may be transmitted via different cells and thus the BS and the UE may each have a multiplexing gain. Therefore, in the disclosure, the BS may configure mapping information for the UE via an RRC message so as to transmit data to each particular cell, the data being generated by a plurality of RLC entities connected to the PDCP entity for which the packet duplication technology is configured or the data corresponding to a logical channel identifier of each RLC entity.”) and autonomous activation of the feature based on the timer comprises autonomously activating the feature upon discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer. (D2 [0096]-[0104]: “Main functions of the PDCP entity are summarized as shown below. […] Timer-based SDU discard in uplink”. D2 [0296]: “When the PDCP entity obtains (or receives) an indication from the MAC entity, the indication […] may indicate the deactivated RLC entity to discard all data and stop packet duplication transmission to the deactivated RLC entity.” D2 [0297]: “Also, when the PDCP entity receives an indication from the MAC entity, the indication indicating that a certain RLC entity is activated, the PDCP entity may re-perform packet duplication on the activated RLC entity, and when a timer for selective duplication is set or a timer for determining whether to release duplication transmission is set, the PDCP entity may start the timer”. Examiner Notes: The claims require the feature (of PDCP packet duplication) to be activated temporally subsequent to a discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer. D2 discloses a first indication may cause data packets to be discarded, and that another indication may indicate to duplicate a packet. D1 also discloses timer-based packet discarding and further explains the benefits thereof. The cited aspects of D1 and D2 do not appear to temporally limit their respective disclosures of packet discarding to only occurring before or after a given packet duplication feature.)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
D1 discloses: 27. (Currently Amended) A base station (D1 [0022]: “As illustrated in FIG. 1, the mobile communication system includes a user equipment (UE) 100, a 5G radio access network (next generation radio access network (NG-RAN)) 10, and a 5G core network (5GC) 20.” D1 [0024]: “NG-RAN 10 includes base stations (referred to as “gNBs” in the 5G system) 200”) comprising: processing circuitry (D1 [0033]: “As illustrated in FIG. 3, the gNB 200 includes a transmitter 210, a receiver 220, a controller 230”. D1 [0036]: “The controller 230 includes at least one processor and at least one memory. The memory stores programs to be executed by the processor and information to be used for processes by the processor.”) configured to cause the base station to: provide a timer related to survival time to a wireless communication device, (D1 [0024]: “The gNB 200 has […] a measurement control function for […] scheduling”. D1 [0093]: “the communication apparatus 1 transmits a packet to the communication apparatus 2 at a predetermined time interval. For example, the communication apparatus 1 transmits a certain number of packets to the communication apparatus 2 at a constant periodicity, as in voice communication using Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS).” D1 [0059]-[0060]: “communication apparatus 1 discards a packet of which the residence time exceeds the time threshold, without transmitting the packet. Here, the discard of a packet may mean removing the packet from a buffer.” D1 [0063]: “The time threshold may be equal to or greater than the survival time.” Examiner Notes: The gNB provided schedule is equated to the base station provided timer. ) the survival time being an amount of time that an application consuming a communication service may continue without an anticipated message; (D1 [0062]: “the survival time refers to the time during which the application can continue the communication service even when no communication is expected.”) [and provide, to the wireless communication device, one or more parameters related to autonomous activation of a feature at the wireless communication device, the feature being Packet Detection Convergence Protocol, PDCP, packet duplication, one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs in a case where PDCP packet duplication is already activated, or some other mechanism that increases reliability of packet transmission;] where the timer is a PDCP discard timer, (D1 [0069]: “the communication apparatus 1 starts the timer when the target packet enters the predetermined layer […] the predetermined layer is the […] the PDCP layer.” D1 [0105]: “if the timer started in step S1 expires […] the subsequent packet is not to be transmitted from the communication apparatus 1 (i.e., that the target packet has been discarded”) [and autonomous activation of the feature based on the timer comprises autonomously activating the feature upon] discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer. (D1 [0105]: “if the timer started in step S1 expires […] the predetermined [PDCP] layer […] may notify a different layer […] that the target packet has been discarded in the communication apparatus 1.” D1 [0059]-[0060]: “communication apparatus 1 discards a packet of which the residence time exceeds the time threshold, without transmitting the packet. Here, the discard of a packet may mean removing the packet from a buffer. […] This makes it easy to curb the degradation of the real-time performance, allowing the service quality to be improved.”)
The cited aspects of D1 do not appear to explicitly disclose, however, D2, in the same field of endeavor (e.g., D2 Abstract: “performing communication by using a plurality of Radio Link Control (RLC) entities in a wireless communication system”) discloses provide, to the wireless communication device, one or more parameters related to autonomous activation of a feature at the wireless communication device, the feature being Packet Detection Convergence Protocol, PDCP, packet duplication, [one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs in a case where PDCP packet duplication is already activated, or some other mechanism that increases reliability of packet transmission;] […] (D2 [0299]: “when the BS configures a plurality of RLC entities for each bearer (or the PDCP entity) for which the packet duplication technology is configured, the BS may configure which cell or frequency is used to transmit duplicate data to be processed and configured by each of the RLC entities, such that respective pieces of duplicate data may be transmitted via different cells and thus the BS and the UE may each have a multiplexing gain. Therefore, in the disclosure, the BS may configure mapping information for the UE via an RRC message so as to transmit data to each particular cell, the data being generated by a plurality of RLC entities connected to the PDCP entity for which the packet duplication technology is configured or the data corresponding to a logical channel identifier of each RLC entity.”) and autonomous activation of the feature based on the timer comprises autonomously activating the feature upon discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer. (D2 [0096]-[0104]: “Main functions of the PDCP entity are summarized as shown below. […] Timer-based SDU discard in uplink”. D2 [0296]: “When the PDCP entity obtains (or receives) an indication from the MAC entity, the indication […] may indicate the deactivated RLC entity to discard all data and stop packet duplication transmission to the deactivated RLC entity.” D2 [0297]: “Also, when the PDCP entity receives an indication from the MAC entity, the indication indicating that a certain RLC entity is activated, the PDCP entity may re-perform packet duplication on the activated RLC entity, and when a timer for selective duplication is set or a timer for determining whether to release duplication transmission is set, the PDCP entity may start the timer”. Examiner Notes: The claims require the feature (of PDCP packet duplication) to be activated temporally subsequent to a discarding a packet upon expiry of the PDCP timer. D2 discloses a first indication may cause data packets to be discarded, and that another indication may indicate to duplicate a packet. D1 also discloses timer-based packet discarding and further explains the benefits thereof. The cited aspects of D1 and D2 do not appear to temporally limit their respective disclosures of packet discarding to only occurring before or after a given packet duplication feature.)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over D1 and D2 in further view of WO 2020223531 A1 (Ansari et al., hereinafter “D5”).
D2 discloses: 3. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 1 wherein the timer is a timer that is specific for the purpose of activating the feature, (D2 [0297]: “a timer for selective duplication is set”) and autonomously activating the feature based on the timer comprises autonomously activating the feature [upon] expiry of the timer. (D2 [0303]: “a timer for each packet is running for selective duplication […] the PDCP entity may stop the timer for each packet for selective duplication”. Examiner’s Note: D2 discloses a timer corresponding to the duplication feature, and that the timer may be stopped (e.g., expired) for the duplication feature (e.g., activating the feature).).
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
The cited aspects of D1 and D2 do not appear to explicitly disclose, however, D5, in the same field of endeavor (e.g., D5, Abstract “A process for execution by user equipment (UE) for activation or deactivation of a Radio Link Control (RLC) entity for Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) duplication”) discloses activating the feature upon expiry of the timer (D5 [00173]: “PDCP duplication activation and/or deactivation […] is disabled until the timer expires.” D5 [0012]: “initiating a timer having a duration; and pausing selection of the subset of RLC entities for PDCP duplication until the duration expires.” D5 [0179]: “As previously stated, when a MAC CE is used for controlling PDCP duplication, UE control can be based on a timer”).
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1, D2, and D5 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D5’s, para. [0005] disclosure that “The UE-based systems and methods described in this disclosure may facilitate quality of signal (QoS) requirements for Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency (URLLC) services.”
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over D1 and D2 in further view of US 20210136625 A1 (Jo et al., hereinafter “D3”).
D2 discloses: 7. (Original) The method of claim 6 (See rejection of Claim 6, above) wherein autonomously activating PDCP packet duplication or one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs (D2 [0297]: “when the PDCP entity receives an indication […] that a certain RLC entity is activated, the PDCP entity may re-perform packet duplication on the activated RLC entity”) [comprises autonomously activating all configured but currently inactive PDCP packet duplication legs.]
The cited aspects of D2 do not appear to explicitly disclose, however, D3, in the same field of endeavor (e.g., D3 Abstract: “invention relates to a method for receiving packets by a decompressor in a wireless communication system”) discloses “autonomously activating all configured but currently inactive PDCP packet duplication legs.” (D3 [0210]: “At PDCP duplication, application of the configured cell restrictions may not be dynamically changed upon activation or deactivation of PDCP duplication.” Examiner’s Note: D3 discloses activating one or more PDCP packet duplication legs, wherein activation entails that duplication may previously have been inactive.)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1, D2, and D3 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D3’s, para. [0003] disclosure that “new techniques are needed by which the BS utilizes the limited radio resources to efficiently receive/transmit uplink/downlink data and/or uplink/downlink control information.”
Claims 8-10 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over D1 and D2 in further view of Lenovo et al: “Details of Selective Duplication Procedure”. 3GPP DRAFT; R2-1910104, 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (3GPP), MOBILE COMPETENCE CENTRE; 650, ROUTE DES LUCIOLES; F-06921 SOPHIA-ANTIPOLIS CEDEX; FRANCE. (hereinafter “D4”).
D1 and D2 disclose: 8. (Original) The method of claim 6 wherein autonomously activating PDCP packet duplication or one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs (See the rejection of Claim 6) [comprises autonomously activating a subset of all configured but currently inactive PDCP packet duplication legs.]
The cited aspects of D1 and D2 do not appear to explicitly disclose, however, D4, in the same field of endeavor (e.g., D4, 1. Introduction, Lns. 1-4: “One of the objectives of the Work Item Support of NR Industrial Internet of Things (loT) is to study and specify enhancements for more resource efficient PDCP duplication by enhancing PDCP duplication activation/deactivation mechanisms (e.g. MAC CE based or based on UE configurable ctiteria), provided that complexity increase is reasonable.”) discloses “autonomously activating a subset of all configured but currently inactive PDCP packet duplication legs.” (D4, 2. Discussion, Proposal 1, Body, Lns. 3-5: “PDCP duplication is a key feature adopted by Rel-15 […] According to the mechanism specified for Rel-15, duplication is activated/deactivated by means of MAC CE signaling from the gNB.” D4, 2. Discussion, Proposal 3, Body, Lns. 1-7: “The UE should enable duplication for the next HARQ transmission in order to avoid that the packet is considered as lost by the application and consequently the survival timer started. In order to be able to transmit duplicate(s) of a PDCP PDU […] the duplicates of the original PDCP PDU must be already available for transmission”. Examiner Notes: D4 discloses activation/deactivation of various PDCP packet duplication legs, and further discloses that PDCPs which are activated and/or in the process of activating must be configured (e.g., available for transmission) prior to transmission. D4 does not specify that all inactive PDCP packet duplication legs must be activated simultaneously. Therefore, the disclosure of D4 contemplates that a subset of currently inactive PDCP packet duplication legs may be activated).
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1, D2, and D4 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D4’s 1. Introduction, Lns. 1-4: disclosure that “One of the objectives of the Work Item Support of NR Industrial Internet of Things (loT) is to study and specify enhancements for more resource efficient PDCP duplication.”
D2 discloses: 9. (Original) The method of claim 8 wherein the subset of all configured but currently inactivate PDCP packet duplication legs (See the rejection of Claim 8, above) comprises one or more PDCP packet duplication legs (D2 [0297]: “when the PDCP entity receives an indication […] that a certain RLC entity is activated, the PDCP entity may re-perform packet duplication on the activated RLC entity”) associated to one or more cell groups other than a cell group to which an existing, activated RLC entity belongs. (D2 [0065]: “cell group configuration information may indicate configuration information of each RLC entity, and may indicate a bearer identifier and a logical channel identifier corresponding to each RLC entity.” D2 [0297]: “PDCP entity may re-perform packet duplication on the activated RLC entity, and when a timer for selective duplication is set […] the PDCP entity may start the timer.” Examiner Notes: The cited aspects of D4 (with respect to claim 8, from which claim 9 claims dependency) also discuss these features: D4, 2. Discussion, Proposal 1, Body, Lns. 3-5: “PDCP duplication is a key feature adopted by Rel-15 […] According to the mechanism specified for Rel-15, duplication is activated/deactivated by means of MAC CE signaling from the gNB.”)
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1 and D2 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D2’s, para. [0054] disclosure that “In the disclosure, provided is a method of additionally transmitting three pieces of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data by extending a principle by which one piece of duplicate data with respect to one piece of data is additionally transmitted to improve reliability in the packet duplication technology.”
D1 and D2 disclose: 10. (Original) The method of claim 6 wherein autonomously activating PDCP packet duplication or one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs comprises [successively activating one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs.] (D2 [0297]: “PDCP entity may re-perform packet duplication on the activated RLC entity, and when a timer for selective duplication is set […] the PDCP entity may start the timer.”)
The cited aspects of D1 and D2 do not appear to explicitly disclose, however, D4, in the same field of endeavor (e.g., D4, 1. Introduction, Lns. 1-4: “One of the objectives of the Work Item Support of NR Industrial Internet of Things (loT) is to study and specify enhancements for more resource efficient PDCP duplication by enhancing PDCP duplication activation/deactivation mechanisms (e.g. MAC CE based or based on UE configurable ctiteria), provided that complexity increase is reasonable.”) discloses “successively activating one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs.” (D4, 2. Discussion, Proposal 1, Body, Lns. 3-5: “PDCP duplication is a key feature adopted by Rel-15 […] According to the mechanism specified for Rel-15, duplication is activated/deactivated by means of MAC CE signaling from the gNB.” Examiner Notes: D4 discloses activation/deactivation of various PDCP packet duplication legs).
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1, D2, and D4 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D4’s 1. Introduction, Lns. 1-4: disclosure that “One of the objectives of the Work Item Support of NR Industrial Internet of Things (loT) is to study and specify enhancements for more resource efficient PDCP duplication.”
D1 and D2 discloses: 12. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 6 wherein autonomously activating PDCP packet duplication or one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs (See the rejection of Claim 6, above) comprises autonomously activating PDCP packet duplication or one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs based on a predefined [or configured] number of PDCP packet duplication legs to be activated. (D2 [0163]-[0169]: “NR MAC entity may be connected to a plurality of NR RLC entities configured for one UE, and main functions of the NR MAC entity may include some of the following functions. […] Priority handling between logical channels of one UE [0169] Priority handling between UEs by means of dynamic scheduling”. D2 [0303]: “when the PDCP entity receives an indication from the MAC entity, the indication indicating that a certain RLC entity is activated, the PDCP entity may re-perform packet duplication on the RLC entity, and when a timer for selective duplication is set or a timer for determining whether to release duplication transmission is set, the PDCP entity may start the timer for selective duplication or the timer for determining whether to release duplication transmission.” Examiner Notes: D2 [0303] discloses PDCP duplication based on MAC and RLC entities, and [0163]-[0163] disclose priority and scheduling handling via RLC and MAC entities. Accordingly, D2’s PDCP duplication may be based on a predefined number of PDCP duplication legs via the scheduling (e.g., wherein scheduling schedules PDCP duplication via a number of PDCP duplication legs.))
The cited aspects of D1 and D2 do not appear to explicitly disclose, however, D4, in the same field of endeavor (e.g., D4, 1. Introduction, Lns. 1-4: “One of the objectives of the Work Item Support of NR Industrial Internet of Things (loT) is to study and specify enhancements for more resource efficient PDCP duplication by enhancing PDCP duplication activation/deactivation mechanisms (e.g. MAC CE based or based on UE configurable ctiteria), provided that complexity increase is reasonable.”) discloses “autonomously activating PDCP packet duplication or one or more additional PDCP packet duplication legs based on [a predefined] or configured number of PDCP packet duplication legs to be activated.” (D4, 2. Discussion, Proposal 1, Body, Lns. 3-5: “PDCP duplication is a key feature adopted by Rel-15 […] According to the mechanism specified for Rel-15, duplication is activated/deactivated by means of MAC CE signaling from the gNB.” D4, 2. Discussion, Proposal 3, Body, Lns. 1-7: “The UE should enable duplication for the next HARQ transmission in order to avoid that the packet is considered as lost by the application and consequently the survival timer started. In order to be able to transmit duplicate(s) of a PDCP PDU […] the duplicates of the original PDCP PDU must be already available for transmission”. Examiner Notes: D4 discloses activation/deactivation of various PDCP packet duplication legs, and further discloses that PDCPs which are activated and/or in the process of activating must be configured (e.g., available for transmission) prior to transmission).
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of D1, D2, and D4 based on each reference being in the same or similar fields of endeavor and based on explicit motivations, e.g., D4’s 1. Introduction, Lns. 1-4: disclosure that “One of the objectives of the Work Item Support of NR Industrial Internet of Things (loT) is to study and specify enhancements for more resource efficient PDCP duplication.”
Conclusion
H. The prior art made of record includes:
- US 20230076524 A1 (Fujishiro, “D1”).
- US 20220377829 A1 (Kim et al., “D2”)
- US 20210136625 A1 (Jo et al., “D3”).
- Lenovo et al: “Details of Selective Duplication Procedure”. 3GPP DRAFT; R2-1910104, 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (3GPP), MOBILE COMPETENCE CENTRE; 650, ROUTE DES LUCIOLES; F-06921 SOPHIA-ANTIPOLIS CEDEX; FRANCE. (“D4”).
- WO 2020223531 A1 (Ansari et al., hereinafter “D5”).
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/C.L.E./Examiner, Art Unit 2417
/REBECCA E SONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2417
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