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 .
DETAILED ACTION
a. Claims 1-23 in the present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA :
- claims 1, 12-15, and 20 are amended
- claims 11, 18-19, 21, and 23 are cancelled
b. This is a final action on the merits based on Applicant’s claims submitted on 12/10/2025.
Response to Arguments
Regarding Independent claim 1 previously rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103, Applicant's arguments, see “However, Shi does not involve switching between two non-connected states (from the inactive state to the idle state) when the number of random access preamble transmissions is greater than or equal to a threshold value.” on page 13, 2nd para., lines 4, filed on 12/10/2025, with respect to , have been fully considered but not persuasive.
Lee discloses switching between two non-connected states (from the inactive state to the idle state) based on a number of retransmissions (“A method and apparatus for deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state is provided.” [Abstract]) but Lee does not specifically teach the number of retransmissions are compared to a threshold.
Shi cures Lee’s deficiency by disclosing when the number of random access preamble transmissions is greater than or equal to a threshold value (“performing a state resetting process (i.e. initiate state transition/switching) on a RACH counter so as to continue counting from 0, wherein the RACH counter is a counter that records the number of random access preamble transmissions; and triggering, by the UE, the RACH problem to execute the RRC re-establishment process, if the RACH counter indicates that the number of random access preamble transmissions is greater than or equal to a threshold value configured in the 4-step RA resource.” [0023]).
The Shi’s reference, as combined with the Lee’s reference, discloses each and every limitation of the present claim, and therefore render claim 1 obvious. The Examiner respectfully disagrees with the applicant’s arguments that the Examiner fails to establish a prima facie case of obviousness MPEP § 2141. Claim 1 is still being rejected on the same grounds for rejection as before.
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 of this title, 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.
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Claims 1-4, 15-16, 20, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. US Pub 2022/0061125 (hereinafter “Lee”), and in view of Shi US Pub 2022/0110170 (hereinafter “Shi”).
Regarding claim 1 (Currently Amended)
Lee discloses in Fig. 16 A method for transmitting data, performed by a terminal (“FIG. 16 shows an example of uplink data transmissions from a UE in RRC_IDLE and/or RRC_INACTIVE” [0027]), comprising:
in response to determining that sending uplink data in a non-connected state fails (“In step S1608, negative-acknowledgement in response to the transmission of the data unit may be received. Or, any positive acknowledgement in response to the transmission of the data unit may not be received.” [0244]; Fig. 16), retransmitting the uplink data on a configured retransmission resource (“The UE re-transmits the data unit to the network based on the activated configured grants in step S1606. In some implementations, whenever the UE retransmits the data unit, the UE may count the number of retransmissions for the data unit. The UE may retransmit the data unit to the network based on the configured grant without positive acknowledgement from the network, up to the maximum number of retransmissions. If a (re-)transmission of the data unit is not positively acknowledged by the network, the UE may consider the transmission is unsuccessful and then perform retransmission of the data unit.” [0244-0245]; Fig. 16),
wherein the non-connected state comprises an idle state or an inactive state (“deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state” [0001]); and
in response to a number of times of retransmitting the uplink data and the terminal being in the inactive state, switching to the idle state (“A method and apparatus for deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state is provided.” [Abstract]).
Lee does not specifically teach switching states in response to a number of times of retransmitting the uplink data being greater than or equal to a number threshold.
In an analogous art, Shi discloses switching states in response to a number of times of retransmitting the uplink data being greater than or equal to a number threshold (“performing a state resetting process (i.e. initiate state transition/switching) on a RACH counter so as to continue counting from 0, wherein the RACH counter is a counter that records the number of random access preamble transmissions; and triggering, by the UE, the RACH problem to execute the RRC re-establishment process, if the RACH counter indicates that the number of random access preamble transmissions is greater than or equal to a threshold value configured in the 4-step RA resource.” [0023]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lee’s method for deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state, to include Shi’s method for selecting RACH type based on predefined threshold, in order to effectively select appropriate random access procedure (Shi [0008]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Shi’s method for selecting RACH type based on predefined threshold into Lee’s method for deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 2
Lee, as modified by Shi, previously discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising:
Lee further discloses in a connected state, receiving resource configuration information sent by a base station (“In step S1600, the UE receives one or more configured grants (CGs) which can be used for RRC_IDLE and/or RRC_INACTIVE (e.g., CG A & B). After receiving the one or more configured grants, the UE in RRC_CONNECTED releases and/or suspends a RRC connection to enter RRC_IDLE and/or RRC_INACTIVE, respectively.” [0236]; Fig. 16).
Regarding claim 3
Lee, as modified by Shi, previously discloses the method of claim 2, wherein the resource configuration information indicates at least one of the following information:
Lee further discloses an allocation period (“performing uplink transmission by using uplink resources in a regular pattern for a certain duration (e.g., a configured grant)” [0010]) of a dedicated uplink resource (“uplink resource allocation is also referred to as uplink grant” [0121]);
an allocation starting position of the dedicated uplink resource (“the UE stores the uplink grant provided by RRC as a configured uplink grant for the indicated serving cell, and initialize or re-initialise the configured uplink grant to start in the symbol according to timeDomainOffset and S (derived from SLIV), and to reoccur with periodicity.” [0130]); wherein, the allocation starting position comprises: at least one of a time domain position or a frequency domain position (“The resource allocation includes time domain resource allocation and frequency domain resource allocation. In the present disclosure, uplink resource allocation is also referred to as uplink grant” [0121]);
a total number of configured hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes (“nrofHARQ-Processes: which provides the number of configured HARQ processes for SPS” [0141]);
a starting number of the configured HARQ processes (“In addition, with configured grants, the BS can allocate uplink resources for the initial HARQ transmissions to UEs.” [0122]).
Regarding claim 4
Lee, as modified by Shi, previously discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of:
Lee further discloses determining that sending the uplink data to a base station fails, in response to not receiving feedback information sent by the base station for the uplink data within a first time period after sending the uplink data (“whenever the UE retransmits the data unit, the UE may count the number of retransmissions for the data unit. The UE may retransmit the data unit to the network based on the configured grant without positive acknowledgement from the network, up to the maximum number of retransmissions.” [0245]); or
determining that sending the uplink data to a base station fails, in response to receiving feedback information indicating that sending the uplink data fails sent by the base station (“If a (re-)transmission of the data unit is not positively acknowledged by the network, the UE may consider the transmission is unsuccessful and then perform retransmission of the data unit.” [0245]).
Regarding claim 15 (Currently Amended)
Lee discloses a method for transmitting data (“FIG. 16 shows an example of uplink data transmissions from a UE in RRC_IDLE and/or RRC_INACTIVE according to implementations of the present disclosure.” [0235]), performed by a base station (i.e. “base station” in Fig. 16), comprising:
in a connected state (“the UE in RRC_CONNECTED” [0236]), sending resource configuration information to a terminal (“In step S1600, the UE receives one or more configured grants (CGs) which can be used for RRC_IDLE and/or RRC_INACTIVE (e.g., CG A & B).” [0236]);
wherein, the resource configuration information is used by the terminal to determine a retransmission resource for retransmitting uplink data (“In step S1608, negative-acknowledgement in response to the transmission of the data unit may be received. Or, any positive acknowledgement in response to the transmission of the data unit may not be received.” [0244]) when determining that sending the uplink data in a non-connected state fails (“The UE re-transmits the data unit to the network based on the activated configured grants in step S1606. In some implementations, whenever the UE retransmits the data unit, the UE may count the number of retransmissions for the data unit. The UE may retransmit the data unit to the network based on the configured grant without positive acknowledgement from the network, up to the maximum number of retransmissions. If a (re-)transmission of the data unit is not positively acknowledged by the network, the UE may consider the transmission is unsuccessful and then perform retransmission of the data unit.” [0244-0245]), the non-connected state comprising an idle state or an inactive state (“deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state” [0001]);
wherein
in response to a number of times of retransmitting the uplink data and the terminal being in the inactive state, the terminal switching to the idle state (“A method and apparatus for deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state is provided.” [Abstract]).
Lee does not specifically teach switching states in response to a number of times of retransmitting the uplink data being greater than or equal to a number threshold.
In an analogous art, Shi discloses switching states in response to a number of times of retransmitting the uplink data being greater than or equal to a number threshold (“performing a state resetting process (i.e. initiate state transition/switching) on a RACH counter so as to continue counting from 0, wherein the RACH counter is a counter that records the number of random access preamble transmissions; and triggering, by the UE, the RACH problem to execute the RRC re-establishment process, if the RACH counter indicates that the number of random access preamble transmissions is greater than or equal to a threshold value configured in the 4-step RA resource.” [0023]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lee’s method for deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state, to include Shi’s method for selecting RACH type based on predefined threshold, in order to effectively select appropriate random access procedure (Shi [0008]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Shi’s method for selecting RACH type based on predefined threshold into Lee’s method for deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 16
The method of claim 15, wherein the resource configuration information indicates at least one of the following information:
an allocation period of a dedicated uplink resource;
an allocation starting position of the dedicated uplink resource; wherein, the allocation starting position comprises: at least one of a time domain position and/or a frequency domain position;
a total number of configured hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes;
a starting number of the configured HARQ processes.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 16 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in method claim 3. Therefore method claim 16 corresponds to method claim 3 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 3 rejection above.
Regarding claim 20 (Currently Amended)
Lee discloses a terminal (“In FIG. 2, {the first wireless device 100 may correspond to at least one of {the wireless device 100a to 100f} of FIG. 1.” [0068]; Fig. 2), comprising:
an antenna (“one or more antennas 108” [0069]; Fig. 2);
a memory (“one or more memories 104” [0069]; Fig. 2);
a processor (“one or more processors 102” [0069]; Fig. 2), connected to the antenna and the memory, respectively, configured to control the antenna to receive and send and to perform the following:
in response to determining that sending uplink data in a non-connected state fails, retransmitting the uplink data on a configured retransmission resource;
wherein the non-connected state comprises: an idle state or an inactive state;
in response to a number of times of retransmitting the uplink data being greater than or equal to a number threshold and the terminal being in the inactive state, switching to the idle state.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 20 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 1. Therefore apparatus claim 20 corresponds to method claim 1 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 1 rejection above.
Regarding claim 22
Lee discloses a base station (“In FIG. 2, {the second wireless device 200} may correspond to at least one of {the BS 200} of FIG. 1.” [0068]; Fig. 2), comprising:
a processor (“one or more processors 202” [0070]; Fig. 2);
a memory (“one or more memories 204” [0070]; Fig. 2) configured store instructions executable by the processor;
wherein, when the instructions are executed by the processor, the processor is caused to perform the method according to claim 15.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 22 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 15. Therefore apparatus claim 22 corresponds to method claim 15 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 15 rejection above.
Claims 5-9, 14, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee, in view of Shi, and further in view of Tsai et al. US Pub 2021/0410180, claiming provisional application 63043734 priority 2020-06-24 (hereinafter “Tsai”).
Regarding claim 5
Lee, as modified by Shi, previously discloses the method of claim 1, wherein retransmitting the uplink data on the configured retransmission resource comprises:
Lee and Shi do not specifically teach retransmitting the uplink data on the configured retransmission resource using a HARQ process.
In an analogous art, Tsai discloses retransmitting the uplink data on the configured retransmission resource using a HARQ process (“For configured uplink grants configured with cg-Retransmission Timer, the UE may select a HARQ Process ID among the HARQ process IDs available for the configured grant configuration. The UE may prioritize retransmissions before initial/new transmissions.” [0190]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lee’s method for deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state, as modified by Shi, to include Tsai’s method for small data transmission (SDT), in order to effectively monitor a timer after initiating the transmission (Tsai [0106]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Tsai’s method for small data transmission (SDT) into Lee’s method for deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 6
Lee, as modified by Shi and Tsai, previously discloses the method of claim 5, wherein retransmitting the uplink data on the configured retransmission resource using the HARQ process comprises:
Tsai further discloses retransmitting the uplink data on a dedicated uplink resource (i.e. “uplink grant”) using the HARQ process (“For configured uplink grants configured with cg-Retransmission Timer, the UE may select a HARQ Process ID among the HARQ process IDs available for the configured grant configuration. The UE may prioritize retransmissions before initial/new transmissions.” [0190];
Lee further discloses wherein the dedicated uplink resource is a configured grant (CG) resource (“one wireless device performing uplink transmission by using uplink resources in a regular pattern for a certain duration (e.g., a configured grant) after leaving connected mode” [0010] or a pre-allocated uplink resource (PUR).
Regarding claim 7
Lee, as modified by Shi and Tsai, previously discloses the method of claim 6, wherein the dedicated uplink resource comprises one of the following:
Tsai further discloses a dedicated uplink resource for a HARQ process used when sending the uplink data fails (“the indication may indicate a specific UL grant for a new transmission associated with a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process used for the transmission.” [0108]);
a dedicated uplink resource for any one of a plurality of configured HARQ processes (“In one implementation, a DCI may indicate a specific UL grant for a new transmission associated with a HARQ process used for the previous transmission via a CG resource. In one implementation, the DCI may indicate one or more HARQ process ID(s) for the feedback and/or the specific UL grant.” [0234]); or
a dedicated uplink resource for any one of configured HARQ processes which are not used (“For configured uplink grants configured with cg-Retransmission Timer, the UE may select a HARQ Process ID among the HARQ process IDs available for the configured grant configuration.” [0190]).
Regarding claim 8
Lee, as modified by Shi and Tsai, previously discloses the method of claim 7, further comprising one of the following:
Tsai further discloses in response to a HARQ process not sending the uplink data, determining that the HARQ process is not used (“In one example, the UE 302 may (only) stop the specific timer 310 for a HARQ process when the response/feedback (e.g., ACK or NACK) indicates information (e.g., an index) of the HARQ process.” [0271]);
in response to timeout of a timer for controlling running of a HARQ process, determining that the HARQ process is not used (“When the specific timer 310 expires, the UE 302 may perform the retransmission via the CG autonomously. The UE 302 may perform the retransmission for a HARQ process used for the previous transmission based on the same CG configuration” [0264] and furthermore “expiration of cg-Retransmission Timer for a HARQ process may imply “NACK” of a corresponding CG transmission. When cg-Retransmission Timer is configured and the HARQ entity obtains a MAC PDU to transmit, the corresponding HARQ process may be considered pending. A pending HARQ process is pending until a transmission is performed on that HARQ process or until the HARQ process/buffer is flushed.” [0229]); or
in response to a stop of a timer for controlling running of a HARQ process, determining that the HARQ process is not used (“In one implementation, the UE 302 may (only) stop the specific timer 310 when the response/feedback indicates/schedules a specific UL grant for a new transmission associated with a HARQ process used for the transmission.” [0253]).
Regarding claim 9
Lee, as modified by Shi and Tsai, previously discloses the method of claim 6, wherein the resource configuration information carries a plurality sets of resource configurations, and the dedicated uplink resource comprises one of the following:
Tsai further discloses a dedicated uplink resource indicated by a resource configuration (“the UL resource being either configured by the CG configuration or scheduled by a UL grant from the BS” [0106]) corresponding to a dedicated uplink resource used when sending the uplink data fails (“one wireless device performing uplink transmission by using uplink resources in a regular pattern for a certain duration (e.g., a configured grant) after leaving connected mode can properly recover from failure of radio resources on a cell/carrier/bandwidth part by deactivating use of the resources and informing the network about the failure, in particular when connection between the UE and the network is disconnected or suspended.” [0010]);
a dedicated uplink resource indicated by a candidate resource configuration in the plurality sets of resource configurations (“The UE may be configured with multiple configured grant configurations (e.g., with different CG indexes), which may be used for small data transmission in RRC_INACTIVE.” [0209]), wherein an amount of data that can be sent by the dedicated uplink resource indicated by the candidate resource configuration is the same as an amount of data that can be sent by a dedicated uplink resource used when sending the uplink data fails (“The SDT configuration may include a configured grant (CG) configuration for SDT: The CG configuration included in the small data transmission configuration may include one or more of the parameters listed in the IE ConfiguredGrantConfig (e.g., the periodicity of the configured grant, the size of the UL resource, the duration of the UL resource, etc.) and/or other parameters (e.g., a number and/or a threshold that may be used for the release of the CG, a TA timer for SDT, an RSRP change threshold, a specific RNTI, a configured grant index, and/or a timer for the response/feedback, etc.).” [0209]); or
a dedicated uplink resource indicated by any resource configuration in the plurality sets of resource configurations (“In one implementation, a DCI may indicate a specific UL grant for a new transmission associated with a HARQ process used for the previous transmission via a CG resource. In one implementation, the DCI may indicate one or more HARQ process ID(s) for the feedback and/or the specific UL grant.” [0234]).
Regarding claim 14 (Currently Amended)
Lee, as modified by Shi, previously discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising:
Lee and Shi do not specifically teach receiving retransmission configuration information sent by a base station, wherein the retransmission configuration information is at least used by the terminal to determine the number threshold.
In an analogous art, Tsai discloses receiving retransmission configuration information (i.e. “IE ConfiguredGrantConfig”) sent by a base station (step 402 in Fig. 4), wherein the retransmission configuration information is at least used by the terminal (step 404 in Fig. 4) to determine the number threshold (“The SDT configuration may include a configured grant (CG) configuration for SDT: The CG configuration included in the small data transmission configuration may include one or more of the parameters listed in the IE ConfiguredGrantConfig (e.g., the periodicity of the configured grant, the size of the UL resource, the duration of the UL resource, etc.) and/or other parameters (e.g., a number and/or a threshold that may be used for the release of the CG, a TA timer for SDT, an RSRP change threshold, a specific RNTI, a configured grant index, and/or a timer for the response/feedback, etc.).” [0212]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lee’s method for deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state, as modified by Shi, to include Tsai’s method for small data transmission (SDT), in order to effectively monitor a timer after initiating the transmission (Tsai [0106]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Tsai’s method for small data transmission (SDT) into Lee’s method for deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 17 (Currently Amended)
The method of claim 15, further comprising:
sending retransmission configuration information to the terminal, wherein the retransmission configuration information is at least used by the terminal to determine the number threshold for retransmitting the uplink data.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 17 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in method claim 14. Therefore method claim 17 corresponds to method claim 14 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 14 rejection above.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee, in view of Shi, and further in view of Chen Foreign Patent WO 2017133285 (hereinafter “Chen”).
Regarding claim 10
Lee, as modified by Shi, previously discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising:
Lee and Shi do not specifically teach obtaining the uplink data from a first cache, wherein the first cache is independent from a cache of a HARQ process.
In an analogous art, Chen discloses obtaining the uplink data from a first cache (“the terminal obtains time domain and frequency domain information of resources obtained by contention”), wherein the first cache is independent from a cache of a HARQ process (“The method comprises: a terminal receives an uplink grant instruction sent by a base station, wherein the uplink grant instruction comprises at least identification information of a first HARQ process; the terminal obtains state information of the first HARQ process according to the identification information of the HARQ process, wherein the state information of the first HARQ process comprises at least an NDI value of the first HARQ process and the state of a cache area of the first HARQ process; the terminal determines, according to the uplink grant instruction and/or the state information of the first HARQ process, whether to perform retransmission or new transmission; the terminal obtains time domain and frequency domain information of resources obtained by contention; and if the terminal determines to perform retransmission, the terminal re-sends, over the resources corresponding to the time domain and frequency domain information by using the first HARQ process (i.e. “first cache”) that is different from a second HARQ process (i.e. independent from a cache of a second HARQ process), uplink data which is sent before the second HARQ process.” [Abstract]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lee’s method for deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state, as modified by Shi, to include Chen’s method for sending unlicensed carrier uplink data, in order to properly select retransmission resources (Chen [Abstract]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Chen’s method for sending unlicensed carrier uplink data into Lee’s method for deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Claims 12 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee, in view of Shi, and further in view of Wu et al. US Pub 2022/0070938, claiming foreign application priority 2019-01-17 (hereinafter “Wu”).
Regarding claim 12 (Currently Amended)
Lee, as modified by Shi, previously discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of the following:
Shi further discloses in response to a number of times of retransmitting the uplink data using the A message MsgA in the two-step random access procedure being greater than or equal to the number threshold and the terminal being in the inactive state, switching to the idle state (“after N re-transmissions of 2-step RA msgA, so that the RRC layer triggers a RRC re-establishment process or triggers the UE to return to an IDLE state, where N is a preset threshold value.” [0036]).
Lee and Shi do not specifically teach in response to a number of times of retransmitting the uplink data using the third message Msg3 in the four-step random access procedure being greater than or equal to the number threshold and the terminal being in the inactive state, switching to the idle state.
In an analogous art, Wu discloses in response to a number of times of retransmitting the uplink data using the third message Msg3 in the four-step random access procedure being greater than or equal to the number threshold and the terminal being in the inactive state, switching to the idle state (“Step 4: the UE monitoring the retransmission scheduling of Msg3 (PUSCH) or Msg4 (composed of the PDCCH and the PDSCH). If the UE detects the retransmission scheduling of the Msg3, the UE retransmits the Msg3 and performs step 3 and step 4 in Embodiment 3 of the present application, until the RACH procedure contention ends (which may be successful, or may also be unsuccessful), or the contention window expires; if the UE detects the scheduling of Msg4, and the contention resolution signaling contained in Msg4 shows that the RACH procedure is successful, then the UE returns to the RRC idle mode (that is the RACH procedure of the EDT)” [0227]);
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lee’s method for deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state, as modified by Shi, to include Wu’s method for performing uplink data transmission via a contention-based random access (RACH) procedure, in order to effectively minimize resources utilization (Wu [Abstract]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Wu’s method for performing uplink data transmission via a contention-based random access (RACH) procedure into Lee’s method for deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee, in view of Shi, and further in view of Wang US Pub 2011/0002262 (hereinafter “Wang”).
Regarding claim 13 (Currently Amended)
Lee, as modified by Shi, previously discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of the following:
Lee and Shi do not specifically teach in response to a number of times of retransmitting the uplink data using the third message Msg3 in the four-step random access procedure being greater than or equal to the number threshold and the terminal being in the non-connected state, performing the cell reselection; or
in response to a number of times of retransmitting the uplink data using the A message MsgA in the two-step random access procedure being greater than or equal to the number threshold and the terminal being in the non-connected state, performing the cell reselection.
In an analogous art, Wang discloses in response to a number of times of retransmitting the uplink data using the third message Msg3 in the four-step random access procedure (“Other triggers for a MAC reset may include: a) reaching a predetermined number of RACH retries; b) expiry of reserved dedicated RACH preambles (i.e. could be for either 2-step or 4-step RACH procedure);” [0057-0059]) being greater than or equal to the number threshold (“i) a number of retransmissions of control elements (CE's) exceeds a maximum number of retransmissions allowed” [0066]) and the terminal being in the non-connected state (“A MAC reset may be triggered by a handover, cell-reselection or an RRC state transition from connected mode to idle mode” [0057]), performing the cell reselection (“a measurement indicates that a neighbor cell provides better signal quality than the source cell and WTRU decides to perform cell reselection;” [0065); or
in response to a number of times of retransmitting the uplink data using the A message MsgA in the two-step random access procedure (“Other triggers for a MAC reset may include: a) reaching a predetermined number of RACH retries; b) expiry of reserved dedicated RACH preambles (i.e. could be for either 2-step or 4-step RACH procedure);” [0057-0059]) being greater than or equal to the number threshold (“i) a number of retransmissions of control elements (CE's) exceeds a maximum number of retransmissions allowed” [0066]) and the terminal being in the non-connected state (“A MAC reset may be triggered by a handover, cell-reselection or an RRC state transition from connected mode to idle mode” [0057]), performing the cell reselection (“a measurement indicates that a neighbor cell provides better signal quality than the source cell and WTRU decides to perform cell reselection;” [0065).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lee’s method for deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state, as modified by Shi, to include Wang’s method for resetting and reconfiguring a medium access control (MAC) entity, in order to effectively minimize resources utilization (Wang [0010]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Wang’s method for resetting and reconfiguring a medium access control (MAC) entity into Lee’s method for deactivation of a configured grant based on a number of retransmissions for a wireless device in an idle state and/or an inactive state since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
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/CHUONG M NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411