DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 11/21/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 11/21/2025 has been entered and accepted. Accordingly, claims 1, 7, and 13 have been amended.
Claims 1-18 are pending in this application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 7, and 13 on Pg. 7-8 of Remarks have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Objections
Claims 2, 3, 8, 9, 14, and 15 are objected to because of the following informalities: In view of the current amendments of independent claims 1, 7, and 13 in regards to changing “remapping on a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with the SCG” to recite “remapping from a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with the SCG to another DRB”, the dependent claims 2, 3, 8, 9, 14, and 15 that further recite the language of the independent claims pre-amendment. These dependent claims should also be amended to recite the same language of the independent claims “remapping from a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with the SCG to another DRB”, in order to remain consistent. Unless there was an express purpose or need for these limitations to remain as recited, then appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (US 2024/0147332 A1), hereinafter referred to as Zhang, and further in view of Hori et al. (US 2024/0259865 A1), hereinafter referred to as Hori.
Re. Claim 1, Zhang teaches the following limitations:
A method of performing a dual access by a first base station in a wireless communication system, (¶0001 Embodiments of the present application generally relate to wireless communication technology, especially to methods and apparatuses for deactivating and activating a secondary cell group (SCG) in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) scenario. [i.e. dual access] & ¶0107 Fig. 3 illustrates an exemplary flowchart of a MN [i.e. a first base station] initiated SCG deactivation procedure [i.e. although this procedure is for deactivation, it is performing a dual access method] in accordance with some embodiments of the present application. & ¶0116 FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary flowchart of a MN initiated SCG activation procedure [i.e activation procedure performing a dual access method] in accordance with some embodiments of the present application.)
transmitting, to a second base station, a request message associated with the dual access; (¶0108 As shown in FIG. 3, in operation 301, MN 320 [i.e. the first base station] (e.g., MN 102 as illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) transmits SN Modification Request Message which includes a SCG deactivation indicator, to SN 330 [i.e. a second base station] (e.g., SN 103 as illustrated and shown in FIG. 1).)
receiving, from the second base station, a response message (¶0109 In operation 302, SN 330 [i.e. the second base station] transmits response information to MN 320. [i.e. the first base station receiving a response message from the second base station])
including configuration information of a second cell group (SCG) for the dual access; (¶0110 In one example, SN 330 transmits, to MN 320, SN Modification Request Acknowledge Message [i.e. another instance of a response message transmitted from second base station to first base station], which includes at least one of “state information for the SCell(s) associated with the SCG” and “SCG deactivation configuration information”.)
identifying whether the response message includes information related to a state of the SCG; (¶0046 In the exemplary method 200 as shown in FIG. 2, in operation 201, in response to determining to activate a SCG, the MN or the SN transmits state information for SCell(s) [i.e. identifying the presence of SCG state information within the response message is a necessary operation for (re)activation of the SCG, as well as forwarding the state information to the terminal]. ¶0110 In one example, SN 330 transmits, to MN 320, SN Modification Request Acknowledge Message [i.e. another instance of a response message transmitted from second base station to first base station], which includes at least one of “state information for the SCell(s) associated with the SCG” and “SCG deactivation configuration information” & ¶0111 In operation 303, MN 320 transmits RRCReconfiguration Message to UE 310. The RRCReconfiguration Message includes at least one of “the state information for the SCell(s)” and “the SCG deactivation configuration information”. [i.e. since the state information is also transmitted at step 303, this implies identifying whether the response message contains the state information])
and transmitting, to a terminal, a radio resource control (RRC) message including the configuration information of the SCG and the information related to the state of the SCG, (¶0109 If the response information includes the acknowledgement for the SCG deactivation procedure, MN 320 [i.e. the first base station] may transmit, to UE 310 [i.e. a terminal] (e.g., UE 101 as illustrated and shown in FIG. 1), state information for SCell(s) associated with the SCG and configuration information regarding behaviour(s) of UE 310. & ¶0111 In operation 303, MN 320 transmits RRCReconfiguration Message to UE 310 [i.e. RRC message transmitted to terminal from the first base station]. The RRCReconfiguration Message includes at least one of “the state information for the SCell(s)” and “the SCG deactivation configuration information” [i.e. RRC message includes SCG configuration information and SCG state information].)
Although Zhang does teach an RRC reconfiguration message including an indication that the SCG is to be deactivated as part of configuration information in ¶0111, it does not teach: wherein the configuration information of the SCG includes information not to perform QoS flow remapping from a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with the SCG to another DRB in case that the RRC message includes an indication that the SCG is to be deactivated.
However, in the analogous art, Hori explicitly discloses such a limitation:
wherein the configuration information of the SCG includes information not to perform QoS flow remapping from a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with the SCG to another DRB in case that the RRC message includes an indication that the SCG is to be deactivated. (¶0191 In the terminal device 100, when a DRB to which a certain QoS flow is associated (mapped) is changed, an end marker control PDU is transmitted to the DRB before change. & ¶0193 FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an end marker control PDU is transmitted. For example, in the terminal device 100, the DRB to which QoS flow 1 is mapped is changed from DRB1 to DRB2 (S2). [i.e. describes a scenario where remapping of QoS flow is performed when end marker is transmitted] At this time, the terminal device 100 transmits the data of QoS flow 1 that is retained before the change is instructed using DRB1 before the change. Then, the terminal device 100 transmits, through DRB1, an end marker control PDU (end marker M1) indicating that it is the last time to transmit data of QoS flow 1 through DRB1. This allows the base station device 200 to identify that, from that time forward, data of QoS flow 1 will not be transmitted using DRB1 before change. The mapping between a QoS flow and a DRB may be performed using parameters included in the RRC reconfiguration message [i.e. the QoS flow mapping configuration is included in the RRC message] & ¶0257 The base station device 200 transmits an RRC reconfiguration message (first message) to the terminal device 100 in SCG deactivation (S106). The RRC reconfiguration message is an RRC message that is transmitted from the base station device 200 to the terminal device 100 regarding RRC connection reconfiguration, and may perform establishment, configuration, modification, release, and reconfiguration with sync of radio bearers, cell groups, and measurement information, for example. The RRC reconfiguration message may be RRCReconfiguration of RRC message, or may be a message with another name. & ¶0315-¶0316 If the received RRC reconfiguration message includes a parameter indicating QoS flow to DRB mapping rule configuration (mappedQoS-FlowToAdd), the terminal device 100 performs the following processing. The QoS flow to DRB mapping rule indicates the correspondence between a QoS flow and a DRB. [i.e. parameter for indicating that the QoS flow to DRB mapping rule (QoS flow (re)mapping) is performed when included in the RRC message] For example, the terminal device 100 may perform end marker processing if a predetermined condition is satisfied. The end marker processing is processing of constructing an end marker control PDU, mapping it to the DRB before change, and transmitting it to lower layers. & ¶0325 The base station device 200 may be implemented such that the end marker control PDU is not transmitted to the SCG when the terminal device 100 is in SCG deactivation. For example, the base station device 200 does not cause the RRC reconfiguration message that is to be transmitted to the terminal device 100 to include mappedQoS-FlowToAdd when the terminal device 100 is in SCG deactivation. [i.e. when RRC reconfiguration message indicates deactivation of the SCG, it also does not include mappedQoS-FlowToAdd, which further indicates that the end marker control PDU is not transmitted and therefore QoS flow remapping from the current DRB to another DRB is not performed (information not to perform QoS flow remapping)])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Zhang’s invention of methods and apparatuses for (de)activating a SCG in a MR-DC scenario to include Hori’s teaching of not performing QoS flow to DRB remapping when the RRC reconfiguration message indicates the SCG is being deactivated, because it would enable efficient deactivation of a SCG, without unnecessary re-activation, in order to save power by suspending data communication. (see Hori ¶0006 & ¶0203 & ¶0222)
Re. Claim 4, Zhang and Hori teach claim 1.
Zhang further teaches:
And transmitting, to the terminal, the RRC message including the information related to the state of the SCG. (¶0111 In operation 303, MN 320 transmits RRCReconfiguration Message to UE 310 [i.e. RRC message transmitted to terminal from the first base station]. The RRCReconfiguration Message includes at least one of “the state information for the SCell(s)” and “the SCG deactivation configuration information” [i.e. RRC message includes SCG configuration information and SCG state information)
Hori further teaches:
wherein the transmitting of the RRC message to the terminal comprises: transmitting, to the terminal, configuration information for the QoS flow remapping; (¶0191 In the terminal device 100, when a DRB to which a certain QoS flow is associated (mapped) is changed, an end marker control PDU is transmitted to the DRB before change. & ¶0193 FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an end marker control PDU is transmitted. For example, in the terminal device 100, the DRB to which QoS flow 1 is mapped is changed from DRB1 to DRB2 (S2). [i.e. a scenario where remapping of QoS flow is performed when end marker is transmitted] At this time, the terminal device 100 transmits the data of QoS flow 1 that is retained before the change is instructed using DRB1 before the change. Then, the terminal device 100 transmits, through DRB1, an end marker control PDU (end marker M1) indicating that it is the last time to transmit data of QoS flow 1 through DRB1. This allows the base station device 200 to identify that, from that time forward, data of QoS flow 1 will not be transmitted using DRB1 before change. The mapping between a QoS flow and a DRB may be performed using parameters included in the RRC reconfiguration message [i.e. the QoS flow mapping configuration is included in the RRC message] & ¶0257 The base station device 200 transmits an RRC reconfiguration message (first message) to the terminal device 100 in SCG deactivation (S106). The RRC reconfiguration message is an RRC message that is transmitted from the base station device 200 to the terminal device 100 regarding RRC connection reconfiguration, and may perform establishment, configuration, modification, release, and reconfiguration with sync of radio bearers, cell groups, and measurement information, for example. The RRC reconfiguration message may be RRCReconfiguration of RRC message, or may be a message with another name. & ¶0315-¶0316 If the received RRC reconfiguration message includes a parameter indicating QoS flow to DRB mapping rule configuration (mappedQoS-FlowToAdd), the terminal device 100 performs the following processing. The QoS flow to DRB mapping rule indicates the correspondence between a QoS flow and a DRB. [i.e. parameter for indicating QoS flow to DRB mapping rule (QoS flow (re)mapping) is performed when included in the RRC message])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Zhang’s invention of methods and apparatuses for (de)activating a SCG in a MR-DC scenario to include Hori’s teaching of QoS flow to DRB remapping indication in an RRC reconfiguration message indicating the SCG is being deactivated, because it would enable efficient deactivation of a SCG, without unnecessary re-activation, in order to save power by suspending data communication. (see Hori ¶0006 & ¶0203 & ¶0222)
Re. Claim 7, Zhang teaches the following limitations:
A method of performing a dual access by a terminal in a wireless communication system, (¶0021 As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless communication system 100 may be a dual connectivity system 100, including at least one UE 101, at least one MN 102, and at least one SN 103.)
receiving, from a first base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message including configuration information of a second cell group (SCG) for the dual access and information related to a state of the SCG, (¶0124 In operation 502, MN 520 [i.e. a first base station] transmits RRCReconfiguration Message to UE 510 [i.e. transmits RRC message to a terminal]. The RRCReconfiguration Message includes the SCG deactivation configuration information and the state information for the SCell(s).)
based on a message from a second base station which configured the SCG; (Fig. 5 operation 502 based on operation 501 & ¶0123 As shown in FIG. 5, in operation 501, SN 530 [i.e. a second base station] (e.g., SN 103 as illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) transmits SN Modification Required Message, which includes at least one of “state information for SCell(s)” and “SCG deactivation configuration information”, to MN 520 & In operation 502, MN 520 transmits RRCReconfiguration Message to UE 510. The RRCReconfiguration Message includes the SCG deactivation configuration information and the state information for the SCell(s).)
and transmitting an RRC response message including information whether configuration of the SCG is successful, (¶0125 In operation 503, UE 510 transmits RRCReconfigurationComplete Message [i.e. message indicating whether configuration is successful] to MN 520.)
Although Zhang does teach an RRC message including an indication that the SCG is to be deactivated as part of configuration information in ¶0109, it does not teach: wherein the configuration information of the SCG includes information not to perform QoS flow remapping from a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with the SCG to another SCG in case that the RRC message includes an indication that the SCG is to be deactivated
However, in the analogous art, Hori teaches such a limitation:
wherein the configuration information of the SCG includes information not to perform QoS flow remapping from a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with the SCG to another DRB in case that the RRC message includes an indication that the SCG is to be deactivated. (¶0191 In the terminal device 100, when a DRB to which a certain QoS flow is associated (mapped) is changed, an end marker control PDU is transmitted to the DRB before change. & ¶0193 FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an end marker control PDU is transmitted. For example, in the terminal device 100, the DRB to which QoS flow 1 is mapped is changed from DRB1 to DRB2 (S2). [i.e. a scenario where remapping of QoS flow is performed when end marker is transmitted] At this time, the terminal device 100 transmits the data of QoS flow 1 that is retained before the change is instructed using DRB1 before the change. Then, the terminal device 100 transmits, through DRB1, an end marker control PDU (end marker M1) indicating that it is the last time to transmit data of QoS flow 1 through DRB1. This allows the base station device 200 to identify that, from that time forward, data of QoS flow 1 will not be transmitted using DRB1 before change. The mapping between a QoS flow and a DRB may be performed using parameters included in the RRC reconfiguration message [i.e. the QoS flow mapping configuration is included in the RRC message] & ¶0257 The base station device 200 transmits an RRC reconfiguration message (first message) to the terminal device 100 in SCG deactivation (S106). The RRC reconfiguration message is an RRC message that is transmitted from the base station device 200 to the terminal device 100 regarding RRC connection reconfiguration, and may perform establishment, configuration, modification, release, and reconfiguration with sync of radio bearers, cell groups, and measurement information, for example. The RRC reconfiguration message may be RRCReconfiguration of RRC message, or may be a message with another name. & ¶0315-¶0316 If the received RRC reconfiguration message includes a parameter indicating QoS flow to DRB mapping rule configuration (mappedQoS-FlowToAdd), the terminal device 100 performs the following processing. The QoS flow to DRB mapping rule indicates the correspondence between a QoS flow and a DRB. [i.e. parameter for indicating QoS flow to DRB mapping rule (QoS flow (re)mapping) is performed when included in the RRC message] For example, the terminal device 100 may perform end marker processing if a predetermined condition is satisfied. The end marker processing is processing of constructing an end marker control PDU, mapping it to the DRB before change, and transmitting it to lower layers. & ¶0325 The base station device 200 may be implemented such that the end marker control PDU is not transmitted to the SCG when the terminal device 100 is in SCG deactivation. For example, the base station device 200 does not cause the RRC reconfiguration message that is to be transmitted to the terminal device 100 to include mappedQoS-FlowToAdd when the terminal device 100 is in SCG deactivation. [i.e. when RRC reconfiguration message indicates deactivation of the SCG, it also does not include mappedQoS-FlowToAdd, which further indicates that the end marker control PDU is not transmitted and therefore QoS flow remapping from the current DRB to another DRB is not performed])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Zhang’s invention of methods and apparatuses for (de)activating a SCG in a MR-DC scenario to include Hori’s teaching of not performing QoS flow to DRB remapping when the RRC reconfiguration message indicates the SCG is being deactivated, because it would enable efficient deactivation of a SCG, without unnecessary re-activation, in order to save power by suspending data communication. (see Hori ¶0006 & ¶0203 & ¶0222)
Re. Claim 10, Zhang and Hori teach claim 7.
Zhang further teaches:
And receiving, from the first base station, the RRC message including the information related to the state of the SCG. (¶0111 In operation 303, MN 320 transmits RRCReconfiguration Message to UE 310 [i.e. RRC message transmitted to terminal from the first base station]. The RRCReconfiguration Message includes at least one of “the state information for the SCell(s)” and “the SCG deactivation configuration information” [i.e. RRC message includes SCG configuration information and SCG state information)
Hori further teaches:
wherein the receiving of the RRC message from the first base station comprises: receiving, from the first base station, configuration information for the QoS flow remapping; (¶0191 In the terminal device 100, when a DRB to which a certain QoS flow is associated (mapped) is changed, an end marker control PDU is transmitted to the DRB before change. & ¶0193 FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an end marker control PDU is transmitted. For example, in the terminal device 100, the DRB to which QoS flow 1 is mapped is changed from DRB1 to DRB2 (S2). [i.e. a scenario where remapping of QoS flow is performed when end marker is transmitted] At this time, the terminal device 100 transmits the data of QoS flow 1 that is retained before the change is instructed using DRB1 before the change. Then, the terminal device 100 transmits, through DRB1, an end marker control PDU (end marker M1) indicating that it is the last time to transmit data of QoS flow 1 through DRB1. This allows the base station device 200 to identify that, from that time forward, data of QoS flow 1 will not be transmitted using DRB1 before change. The mapping between a QoS flow and a DRB may be performed using parameters included in the RRC reconfiguration message [i.e. the QoS flow mapping configuration is included in the RRC message] & ¶0257 The base station device 200 transmits an RRC reconfiguration message (first message) to the terminal device 100 in SCG deactivation (S106). The RRC reconfiguration message is an RRC message that is transmitted from the base station device 200 to the terminal device 100 regarding RRC connection reconfiguration, and may perform establishment, configuration, modification, release, and reconfiguration with sync of radio bearers, cell groups, and measurement information, for example. The RRC reconfiguration message may be RRCReconfiguration of RRC message, or may be a message with another name. & ¶0315-¶0316 If the received RRC reconfiguration message includes a parameter indicating QoS flow to DRB mapping rule configuration (mappedQoS-FlowToAdd), the terminal device 100 performs the following processing. The QoS flow to DRB mapping rule indicates the correspondence between a QoS flow and a DRB. [i.e. parameter for indicating QoS flow to DRB mapping rule (QoS flow (re)mapping) is performed when included in the RRC message])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Zhang’s invention of methods and apparatuses for (de)activating a SCG in a MR-DC scenario to include Hori’s teaching of QoS flow to DRB remapping indication in an RRC reconfiguration message indicating the SCG is being deactivated, because it would enable efficient deactivation of a SCG, without unnecessary re-activation, in order to save power by suspending data communication. (see Hori ¶0006 & ¶0203 & ¶0222)
Re. Claim 13, Zhang teaches the following limitations:
A first base station for performing a dual access in a wireless communication system, the first base station comprising: a transceiver, (Fig. 8 & ¶0109 In operation 302, SN 330 transmits response information to MN 320 [i.e. the first base station]. & ¶0147 FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an apparatus in accordance with some embodiments of the present application. In some embodiments of the present application, the apparatus 800 may be a UE, a MN, or a SN, which can at least perform the method illustrated in any of FIGS. 2-7. & ¶0149 In some embodiments of the present application, the at least one receiver 802 and the at least one transmitter 804 are combined into a single device, such as a transceiver.)
And at least one processor coupled with the transceiver and configured to: (Fig 8 Processor 808 coupled to 802 and 804)
The remaining claim limitations can be directed to a similar rejection as for claim 1.
Claim 16 is directed towards a device claim that recites similar limitations to method claim 4. Therefore, the rejection for claim 16 is similar to the rejection for claim 4.
Claims 2-3, 8-9, and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang combined with Hori, and in further view of Chen et al. (US 2024/0155712 A1), hereinafter referred to as Chen.
Re. Claim 2, Zhang and Hori teach claim 1.
Zhang further teaches:
wherein the information related to the state of the SCG includes a current state of the SCG, (¶0110 For example, the state information may include a deactivated state of a SCell [i.e. a current state of the SCG] within the SCell(s).)
Yet, Zhang and Hori do not expressly teach: wherein the configuration information of the SCG includes the information not to perform the QoS flow remapping on the DRB associated with the SCG in case that the current state of the SCG is inactive.
However, in the analogous art, Chen explicitly discloses such a limitation:
and wherein the configuration information of the SCG includes the information not to perform the QoS flow remapping on the DRB associated with the SCG in case that the current state of the SCG is inactive. (¶0071 a user equipment (UE) receiving, from a base station of the network, a deactivation indication indicating that a secondary cell group (SCG) of a dual connectivity (DC) wireless communications configuration has been deactivated, [i.e. indicates SCG is inactive] receiving, from the base station, a remapping indication indicating that SCG data originally mapped to an SCG bearer should be remapped to an alternate bearer & ¶0074 wherein the alternate bearer is a primary cell group (PCG) bearer [i.e. being remapped to an alternate bearer seen as information indicating not to perform QoS flow remapping on a DRB associated with the SCG to be deactivated, the phrase “not to perform QoS flow remapping on a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with the SCG” within the claim language is interpreted as not remapping on/to the deactivated SCG. Transferring to another bearer indicates that remapping/mapping on the DRB of the deactivated SCG is not allowed])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Zhang and Hori’s invention of methods and apparatuses for (de)activating a SCG in a MR-DC scenario to include Chen’s teaching of the SCG configuration information indicating not to perform QoS flow remapping on a DRB associated with the SCG, because it would enable for the deactivation and remapping of the SCG bearer when the data exchanged has reached a maximum or a quality of signal between the UE and the SCG has degraded. (see Chen ¶0018)
Re. Claim 3, Zhang and Hori teach claim 1.
Zhang further teaches:
wherein the information related to the state of the SCG includes an indicator indicating deactivation of the SCG, (¶0108 As shown in FIG. 3, in operation 301, MN 320 (e.g., MN 102 as illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) transmits SN Modification Request Message, which includes a SCG deactivation indicator, to SN 330 (e.g., SN 103 as illustrated and shown in FIG. 1). & ¶0110 In one example, SN 330 transmits, to MN 320, SN Modification Request Acknowledge Message, which includes at least one of “state information for the SCell(s) associated with the SCG” and “SCG deactivation configuration information”. The SN Modification Request Acknowledge Message indicates an acknowledgement for the SCG deactivation procedure.)
Yet, the combined references do not explicitly teach: wherein the configuration information of the SCG includes the information not to perform the QoS flow remapping on the DRB associated with the SCG.
However, in the analogous art, Chen teaches such a limitation:
and wherein the configuration information of the SCG includes the information not to perform the QoS flow remapping on the DRB associated with the SCG. (¶0071 a user equipment (UE)… receiving, from a base station of the network, a deactivation indication indicating that a secondary cell group (SCG) of a dual connectivity (DC) wireless communications configuration has been deactivated, receiving, from the base station, a remapping indication indicating that SCG data originally mapped to an SCG bearer should be remapped to an alternate bearer… ¶0074 wherein the alternate bearer is a primary cell group (PCG) bearer [i.e. being remapped to an alternate bearer seen as information indicating not to perform QoS flow remapping on a DRB associated with the SCG to be deactivated, the phrase “not to perform QoS flow remapping on a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with the SCG” within the claim language is interpreted as not remapping on/to the deactivated SCG. Transferring to another bearer indicates that remapping/mapping on the DRB of the deactivated SCG is not allowed])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Zhang and Hori’s invention of methods and apparatuses for (de)activating a SCG in a MR-DC scenario to include Chen’s teaching of the SCG configuration information indicating not to perform QoS flow remapping on a DRB associated with the SCG, because it would enable for the deactivation and remapping of the SCG bearer when the data exchanged has reached a maximum or a quality of signal between the UE and the SCG has degraded. (see Chen ¶0018)
Re. Claim 8, Zhang and Hori teach claim 7.
Zhang further teaches:
wherein the information related to the state of the SCG includes a current state of the SCG, (¶0110 For example, the state information may include a deactivated state of a SCell [i.e. a current state of the SCG] within the SCell(s).)
Yet, the combined references do not explicitly teach: wherein the configuration information of the SCG includes the information not to perform the QoS flow remapping on the DRB associated with the SCG in case that the current state of the SCG is inactive.
However, in the analogous art, Chen explicitly discloses such a limitation:
and wherein the configuration information of the SCG includes the information not to perform the QoS flow remapping on the DRB associated with the SCG in case that the current state of the SCG is inactive. (¶0071 a user equipment (UE)… receiving, from a base station of the network, a deactivation indication indicating that a secondary cell group (SCG) of a dual connectivity (DC) wireless communications configuration has been deactivated, [i.e. indication that the current state of the SCG is inactive] receiving, from the base station, a remapping indication indicating that SCG data originally mapped to an SCG bearer should be remapped to an alternate bearer… ¶0074 wherein the alternate bearer is a primary cell group (PCG) bearer [i.e. being remapped to an alternate bearer seen as information indicating not to perform QoS flow remapping on a DRB associated with the SCG to be deactivated, the phrase “not to perform QoS flow remapping on a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with the SCG” within the claim language is interpreted as not remapping on/to the deactivated SCG. Transferring to another bearer indicates that remapping/mapping on the DRB of the deactivated SCG is not allowed])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Zhang and Hori’s invention of methods and apparatuses for (de)activating a SCG in a MR-DC scenario to include Chen’s teaching of the SCG configuration information indicating not to perform QoS flow remapping on a DRB that is inactive, because it would enable for the deactivation and remapping of the SCG bearer when the data exchanged has reached a maximum or a quality of signal between the UE and the SCG has degraded. (see Chen ¶0018)
Re. Claim 9, Zhang and Hori teach claim 7.
Zhang further teaches:
wherein the information related to the state of the SCG includes an indicator indicating deactivation of the SCG, (¶0108 As shown in FIG. 3, in operation 301, MN 320 (e.g., MN 102 as illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) transmits SN Modification Request Message, which includes a SCG deactivation indicator, to SN 330 (e.g., SN 103 as illustrated and shown in FIG. 1). & ¶0110 In one example, SN 330 transmits, to MN 320, SN Modification Request Acknowledge Message, which includes at least one of “state information for the SCell(s) associated with the SCG” and “SCG deactivation configuration information”. The SN Modification Request Acknowledge Message indicates an acknowledgement for the SCG deactivation procedure.)
Yet, the combined references do not explicitly teach: wherein the configuration information of the SCG includes the information not to perform the QoS flow remapping on the DRB associated with the SCG.
However, in the analogous art, Chen explicitly discloses such a limitation:
and wherein the configuration information of the SCG includes the information not to perform the QoS flow remapping on the DRB associated with the SCG. (¶0071 a user equipment (UE)… receiving, from a base station of the network, a deactivation indication indicating that a secondary cell group (SCG) of a dual connectivity (DC) wireless communications configuration has been deactivated, receiving, from the base station, a remapping indication indicating that SCG data originally mapped to an SCG bearer should be remapped to an alternate bearer… ¶0074 wherein the alternate bearer is a primary cell group (PCG) bearer [i.e. being remapped to an alternate bearer seen as information indicating not to perform QoS flow remapping on a DRB associated with the SCG to be deactivated, the phrase “not to perform QoS flow remapping on a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with the SCG” within the claim language is interpreted as not remapping on/to the deactivated SCG. Transferring to another bearer indicates that remapping/mapping on the DRB of the deactivated SCG is not allowed])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Zhang and Hori’s invention of methods and apparatuses for (de)activating a SCG in a MR-DC scenario to include Chen’s teaching of the SCG configuration information indicating not to perform QoS flow remapping on a DRB associated with the SCG, because it would enable for the deactivation and remapping of the SCG bearer when the data exchanged has reached a maximum or a quality of signal between the UE and the SCG has degraded. (see Chen ¶0018)
Claims 14-15 are directed towards device claims that recite similar limitations to method claims 2-3. Therefore, the rejections for claims 14-15 are similar to the rejections of claims 2-3.
Claims 5-6, 11-12, and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang combined with Hori, and in further view of Huawei (Email discussion summary on Flow based QoS; Agenda Item: 9.7.4 Flow based QoS; R2-1805467; pub. 2018-04-16), hereinafter referred to as Huawei.
Re. Claim 5, Zhang and Hori teach claim 1.
Zhang further teaches:
And transmitting, to the terminal, the RRC message including an indicator indicating deactivation of the SCG, (Zhang: ¶0109 If the response information includes the acknowledgement for the SCG deactivation procedure [i.e. indication for deactivating SCG], MN 320 [i.e. the first base station] may transmit, to UE 310 [i.e. a terminal] (e.g., UE 101 as illustrated and shown in FIG. 1), state information for SCell(s) associated with the SCG and configuration information regarding behaviour(s) of UE 310. [i.e. the RRC message] & ¶0111 In operation 303, MN 320 transmits RRCReconfiguration Message to UE 310 [i.e. RRC message transmitted to terminal from the first base station]. The RRCReconfiguration Message includes at least one of “the state information for the SCell(s)” and “the SCG deactivation configuration information” [i.e. RRC message includes SCG configuration information and SCG state information, which would necessarily include the indication for deactivation of the SCG].)
Yet, the combined references do not explicitly teach: further comprising: transmitting, to the terminal, an RRC message including configuration information for a SDAP layer; wherein the RRC message including configuration information for the SDAP layer comprises configuration information of a default bearer.
However, in the analogous art, Huawei explicitly discloses such a limitation:
further comprising: transmitting, to the terminal, an RRC message including configuration information for a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer; (Huawei: Pg. 9 Conclusion ¶03: In LTE RRCConnectionReconfiguration message, it includes nr-RadioBearerConfig1-r15 and nr-RadioBearerConfig2-r15. Both IEs refer to NR RadioBearerConfig IE as specified in TS 38.331. The NR RadioBearerConfig IE carrier the parameters for PDCP and SDAP configurations for the radio bearers.)
wherein the RRC message including configuration information for the SDAP layer comprises configuration information of a default bearer. (Huawei: pg. 10 Section 3 Conclusion ¶03: -In LTE RRCConnectionReconfiguration message, it includes nr-RadioBearerConfig1-r15 and nr-RadioBearerConfig2-r15. Both IEs refer to NR RadioBearerConfig IE as specified in TS 38.331. The NR RadioBearerConfig IE carries the parameters for PDCP and SDAP configurations for the radio bearers & pg. 13 DRB configuration: 5. The gNB indicates to UE using RRC signaling the default DRB for a PDU session. & pg. 15 QoS with DC operation: 5: The SN is responsible for the DRB management (e.g., setup, modify, release) of SCG/SCG-split bearers)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Zhang and Hori’s invention of methods and apparatuses for (de)activating a SCG in a MR-DC scenario to include Huawei’s teaching of SDAP configuration information comprising configuration information of a default bearer, because it allows more control over DRB management. (see Huawei pg. 13 & 15 DRB configurations)
Re. Claim 6, Zhang combined with Hori and Huawei teaches claim 5.
Huawei further teaches:
wherein the configuration information of the default bearer reconfigures the default bearer to a bearer included in a non-deactivated cell group. (Huawei: pg. 10 Section 3 Conclusion: -In LTE RRCConnectionReconfiguration message, it includes nr-RadioBearerConfig1-r15 and nr-RadioBearerConfig2-r15. Both IEs refer to NR RadioBearerConfig IE as specified in TS 38.331. The NR RadioBearerConfig IE carries the parameters for PDCP and SDAP configurations for the radio bearers & pg. 13 DRB configuration: 5. The gNB indicates to UE using RRC signaling the default DRB for a PDU session [i.e. set up a default radio bearer during reconfiguration, which implies the use of a cell group that is not deactivated]. & pg. 15 QoS with DC operation: 5: The SN is responsible for the DRB management (e.g., setup, modify, release) of SCG/SCG-split bearers)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Zhang and Hori’s invention of methods and apparatuses for (de)activating a SCG in a MR-DC scenario to include Huawei’s teaching of SDAP configuration information comprising configuration information of a default bearer for reconfiguring the default bearer to one included in a cell group that is non-deactivated, because it allows more control over DRB management. (see Huawei pg. 13 & 15 DRB configurations)
Re. Claim 11, Zhang and Hori teach claim 7.
Zhang further teaches:
further comprising: and receiving, from the first base station, the RRC message including an indicator indicating deactivation of the SCG, (Zhang: ¶0109 If the response information includes the acknowledgement for the SCG deactivation procedure [i.e. indication for deactivating SCG], MN 320 [i.e. the first base station] may transmit, to UE 310 [i.e. a terminal] (e.g., UE 101 as illustrated and shown in FIG. 1), state information for SCell(s) associated with the SCG and configuration information regarding behaviour(s) of UE 310. [i.e. the RRC message] & ¶0111 In operation 303, MN 320 transmits RRCReconfiguration Message to UE 310 [i.e. RRC message transmitted to terminal from the first base station]. The RRCReconfiguration Message includes at least one of “the state information for the SCell(s)” and “the SCG deactivation configuration information” [i.e. RRC message includes SCG configuration information and SCG state information, which would necessarily include the indication for deactivation of the SCG].)
Yet, the combined references do not explicitly teach: receiving, from the first base station, an RRC message including configuration information for the SDAP layer; wherein the RRC message including configuration information for the SDAP layer comprises configuration information of a default bearer.
However, in the analogous art, Huawei explicitly discloses such limitations:
receiving, from the first base station, an RRC message including configuration information for the SDAP layer; (Huawei: Pg. 9 Conclusion ¶03: In LTE RRCConnectionReconfiguration message, it includes nr-RadioBearerConfig1-r15 and nr-RadioBearerConfig2-r15. Both IEs refer to NR RadioBearerConfig IE as specified in TS 38.331. The NR RadioBearerConfig IE carrier the parameters for PDCP and SDAP configurations for the radio bearers.)
wherein the RRC message including configuration information for a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer comprises configuration information of a default bearer. (Huawei: pg. 10 Section 3 Conclusion: -In LTE RRCConnectionReconfiguration message, it includes nr-RadioBearerConfig1-r15 and nr-RadioBearerConfig2-r15. Both IEs refer to NR RadioBearerConfig IE as specified in TS 38.331. The NR RadioBearerConfig IE carries the parameters for PDCP and SDAP configurations for the radio bearers & pg. 13 DRB configuration: 5. The gNB indicates to UE using RRC signaling the default DRB for a PDU session. & pg. 15 QoS with DC operation: 5: The SN is responsible for the DRB management (e.g., setup, modify, release) of SCG/SCG-split bearers…)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Zhang and Hori’s invention of methods and apparatuses for (de)activating a SCG in a MR-DC scenario to include Huawei’s teaching of SDAP configuration information comprising configuration information of a default bearer, because it allows more control over DRB management. (see Huawei pg. 13 & 15 DRB configurations)
Re. Claim 12, Zhang, Hori and Huawei teach claim 11.
Huawei further teaches:
wherein the configuration information of the default bearer reconfigures the default bearer to a bearer included in a non-deactivated cell group. (Huawei: pg. 10 Section 3 Conclusion: -In LTE RRCConnectionReconfiguration message, it includes nr-RadioBearerConfig1-r15 and nr-RadioBearerConfig2-r15. Both IEs refer to NR RadioBearerConfig IE as specified in TS 38.331. The NR RadioBearerConfig IE carries the parameters for PDCP and SDAP configurations for the radio bearers & pg. 13 DRB configuration: 5. The gNB indicates to UE using RRC signaling the default DRB for a PDU session [i.e. set up a default radio bearer during reconfiguration, which implies the use of a cell group that is not deactivated]. & pg. 15 QoS with DC operation: 5: The SN is responsible for the DRB management (e.g., setup, modify, release) of SCG/SCG-split bearers…)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Zhang and Hori’s invention of methods and apparatuses for (de)activating a SCG in a MR-DC scenario to include Huawei’s teaching of SDAP configuration information comprising configuration information of a default bearer for reconfiguring the default bearer to one included in a cell group that is non-deactivated, because it allows more control over DRB management. (see Huawei pg. 13 & 15 DRB configurations)
Claims 17-18 are directed towards device claims that recite similar limitations to method claims 5-6. Therefore, the rejections for claims 17-18 are similar to the rejections for claims 5-6.
Conclusion
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/G.A.M./Examiner, Art Unit 2417
/REBECCA E SONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2417