DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to communications filed November 20th, 2025.
Claims 1-20 are currently pending. Claims 6, 12, and 19 are currently amended.
The present application is a continuation of International Application no. PCT/CN2021/100508, field on June 17th, 2021, which claims priority to the People’s Republic of China application no. CN202010605980.3, filed on June 29th, 2020.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5, 7-11, 13-18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Xu et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication no. 2022/0408509, hereinafter Xu).
With respect to claims 1 and 14, Xu discloses a communication method and apparatus, comprising:
obtaining first configuration information (paragraph [0088], lines 12-15), wherein the first configuration information is usable to configure a first radio bearer between a first terminal device and a network device (paragraph [0088], lines 1-12, transmit a RRC connection request to the relay device, which may in turn transmit a RRC connection request to the cellular base station);
receiving a first radio resource control (RRC) message from a second terminal device (paragraph [0088], lines 1-12, transmit a RRC connection request to the relay device), wherein the first RRC message requests includes a request to set up an RRC connection between the second terminal device and the network device (paragraph [0087], lines 1-5, establish a RRC connection between the remote wireless device and the cellular base station); and
sending a first message to the network device through the first radio bearer, wherein the first message comprises the first RRC message and identification information of the second terminal device (paragraph [0088], lines 12-19, RRC setup complete message to the cellular base station).
With respect to claims 2 and 15, Xu discloses the method according to claims 1 and 14, wherein the obtaining first configuration information comprises: receiving the first configuration information from the network device (paragraph [0088], lines 1-12, transmit a RRC connection request to the relay device, which may in turn transmit a RRC connection request to the cellular base station).
With respect to claims 3, 9, and 16, Xu discloses the method according to claims 1, 8, and 14, further comprising 2, sending a first request message to the network device, wherein the first request message requests the first configuration information (paragraph [0105], RRC connection request).
With respect to claims 4, 10, and 17, Xu discloses the method according to claims 3, 9, and 16, wherein the first request message comprises a first indication, and the first indication indicates includes information that the first terminal device has a capability of providing a relay service (paragraph [0091], devices capable of supporting relaying RRC messages).
With respect to claims 5, 11, and 18, Xu discloses the method according to claims 1, 8, and 14, wherein the first configuration information further comprises second configuration information, the second configuration information is usable to configure a second radio bearer between the first terminal device and the network device (paragraph [0105], second remote UE), and the second radio bearer comprises a second signaling radio bearer (SRB) (paragraph [0101]) or a second data radio bearer (DRB) (paragraph [0108]); and
receiving a second RRC message from a third terminal device, wherein the second RRC message includes a request to set up an RRC connection between the third terminal device and the network device (paragraph [0105], second remote UE may provide a RRC connection request); and
sending a second message to the network device through the second radio bearer, wherein the second message comprises the second RRC message and identification information of the third terminal device (paragraph [0108], lines 1-25).
With respect to claims 7, 13, and 20, Xu discloses the method according to claims 1, 8, and 14, wherein the first RRC message comprises an RRC connection request message (paragraph [0105], RRC connection request), an RRC reestablishment request message (paragraph [0109], RRC reestablishment request), or an RRC connection resume request message (paragraph [0110], RRC resume request).
With respect to claim 8, Xu discloses a communication method, comprising:
sending first configuration information to a first terminal device (paragraph [0088], lines 12-15), wherein the first configuration information is usable to configure a first radio bearer between the first terminal device and a network device (paragraph [0088], lines 1-12, transmit a RRC connection request to the relay device, which may in turn transmit a RRC connection request to the cellular base station); and
receiving, through the first radio bearer, a first message from the first terminal device, wherein the first message comprises a first RRC message and identification information of a second terminal device (paragraph [0088], lines 1-12, transmit a RRC connection request to the relay device), and the first RRC message requests includes a request to set up an RRC connection between the second terminal device and the network device (paragraph [0087], lines 1-5, establish a RRC connection between the remote wireless device and the cellular base station).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 6, 12, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu, as applied to claims 1, 8, and 14 above, and further in view of Fujishiro et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication no. 2022/0386320, hereinafter Fujishiro).
With respect to claims 6, 12, and 19, Xu discloses the method according to claims 1, 8, and 14, but Xu does not disclose wherein a logical channel configuration in the first configuration information comprises logical channel group (LCG) information or scheduling request (SR) information, and the LCG information or the SR information includes a request, from the network device, for a resource for sending the first message.
However, Fujishiro discloses wherein the first configuration information comprises a logical channel configuration including logical channel group (LCG) information (paragraph [0100]), or scheduling request (SR) information (paragraph [0113]), requesting a resource for sending the first message (paragraph [0100]).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine the radio resource control connection procedure for remote wireless devices of Xu with the communication control method and relay node of Fujishiro. The motivation to combine being to expand the capability of a cellular base station. The capability of the cellular base station being expanded by a relay node (abstract: Fujishiro).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed November 20th, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
With respect to claims 1, 8, and 14, the applicant argues that Xu fails to disclose obtaining first configuration information, wherein the first configuration information is usable to configure a first radio bearer between a first terminal device and a network device.
The examiner respectfully disagrees. The examiner acknowledges that applicant’s mapping of the prior art onto the claims is consistent with office action, in which the examiner is interpreting the “relay UE” described in Xu to read on the claimed “first terminal device”, and the “cellular base station” described in Xu to read on the claimed “network device”. Paragraph [0089] of Xu clearly articulates the establishment of “one or more relay signal radio bearer between the relay wireless device and the cellular base station”, thus the relay wireless device obtains configuration information in order to establish the radio bearer between the two devices as claimed. Furthermore, Xu teaches additional embodiments of establishing relay signaling radio bearers between the cellular base station/gNB and the relay UE (see paragraph [0101] & [0105]).
With respect to claims 6, 12, and 19, the combination of Xu and Fujishiro fails to disclose first configuration information comprises logical channel group (LCG) information.
The examiner respectfully disagrees. The applicant appears to argue that the claims limit the first configuration information to be “downlink configuration information”, however the claims appear to be silent with respect to the directionality of the configuration information, and merely require the “obtaining” of the first configuration, as recited in independent claims 1, 8, and 14. Nor do the independent claims even appear to necessitate which device obtains the first configuration information. Therefor, it is the examiners position that any mention in the prior art (for configuration purposes) of either logical channel group information OR scheduling request information, would render the claims obvious. Hence the configuration information described by Fujishiro in paragraph [0100] including information designating an event configurations satisfies the claim limitation as currently presented.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Hoang Pat. Pub. 2023/0300713
Du Pat. Pub. 2023/0063139
Wang Pat. Pub. 2023/0073469
Kim Patent no. 10,560,915
Chun Pat. Pub. 2020/0187298
Pan Pat. Pub. 2017/0093541
Hwang Pat. Pub. 2018/0124633
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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2/4/26
/BLAKE J RUBIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2457