DETAILED ACTION
This action is a response to arguments filed on 11/25/25 in which claims 27-46 are pending.
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 .
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.
Claim(s) 27-46 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Shin et al. (Pub. No.: 2021/0321413 A1), herein Shin.
As to claim 27, Shin teaches a method performed by a wireless device for handling configured resources for a data transmission to a network node in a wireless communications network, the method comprising:
when being in connected mobility state, receiving from the network node at a first point in time T1 a configuration for resources for the data transmission (Shin Fig. 17 S1710 Receive configuration information on preconfigured UL resource and [0668] First, in the RRC connected state, the terminal receives configuration information for transmitting the uplink data using the PUR),
entering into inactive mobility state (Shin [0670] Then, the terminal transitions from the RRC connected state to the RRC idle state (S2420)),
when being in inactive mobility state, deciding whether or not a Timing Advance (TA) for the resources configured at T1 for the data transmission is valid at a second point in time T2 (Shin [0668] First, in the RRC connected state, the terminal receives configuration information for transmitting the uplink data using the PUR in the RRC idle state from the base station (S2410). [0671] In addition, in the RRC idle state, the terminal transmits the uplink data to the base station using the PUR based on the configuration information (S2430).[0672] Additionally, the terminal may determine the validity of a configured timing advance (TA))
and
sending an indication to the network node, indicating whether or not the TA for the resources configured for the data transmission at T1 is valid at a second point in time T2 as decided (Shin [0581] Thereafter, the UE may operate to report to the base station that it has updated its TA by the corresponding TA command through the initial PUR transmitted by applying the corresponding TA command. the base station directly receives an indication from the terminal that the TA of the corresponding UE is invalid through a physical channel such as a feedback channel may be applicable)
As to claim 34, Shin teaches a method performed by a network node for handling resources for a data transmission, the method comprising:
configuring at a first point in time T1 a wireless device with resources for the data transmission, wherein the data transmission is from the wireless device to the network node in a wireless communications network (Shin Fig. 17 S1710 Receive configuration information on preconfigured UL resource and [0668] First, in the RRC connected state, the terminal receives configuration information for transmitting the uplink data using the PUR),
when the wireless device is in an inactive mobility state (Shin [0670] Then, the terminal transitions from the RRC connected state to the RRC idle state (S2420)),
receiving an indication from the wireless device, wherein the indication indicates whether or not the timing advance (TA) for the resources configured at T1 for the data transmission is valid at a second point in time T2 as decided by the wireless device (Shin [0581] Thereafter, the UE may operate to report to the base station that it has updated its TA by the corresponding TA command through the initial PUR transmitted by applying the corresponding TA command. the base station directly receives an indication from the terminal that the TA of the corresponding UE is invalid through a physical channel such as a feedback channel may be applicable)
As to claim 37, Shin teaches a wireless device configured to handle configured resources for a data transmission to a network node in a wireless communications network, the wireless device comprising: a processor configured to (Shin Fig. 2 processor):
when being in connected mobility state, receive from the network node at a first point in time T1 a configuration for resources for the data transmission (Shin Fig. 17 S1710 Receive configuration information on preconfigured UL resource and [0668] First, in the RRC connected state, the terminal receives configuration information for transmitting the uplink data using the PUR),
enter into inactive mobility state (Shin [0670] Then, the terminal transitions from the RRC connected state to the RRC idle state (S2420)),
when being in inactive mobility state decide whether or not a Timing Advance (TA) for the resources configured at T1 for the data transmission is valid at a second point in time T2(Shin [0668] First, in the RRC connected state, the terminal receives configuration information for transmitting the uplink data using the PUR in the RRC idle state from the base station (S2410). [0671] In addition, in the RRC idle state, the terminal transmits the uplink data to the base station using the PUR based on the configuration information (S2430) [0672] Additionally, the terminal may determine the validity of a configured timing advance (TA))
and
send an indication to the network node, indicating whether or not the TA for the resources configured at T1 for the data transmission is valid at a second point in time T2 as decided (Shin [0581] Thereafter, the UE may operate to report to the base station that it has updated its TA by the corresponding TA command through the initial PUR transmitted by applying the corresponding TA command. the base station directly receives an indication from the terminal that the TA of the corresponding UE is invalid through a physical channel such as a feedback channel may be applicable)
As to claim 44, Shin teaches a network node configured to handle resources for a data transmission, the network node comprising:
a processor configured to: (Shin Fig. 2 processor)
configure at a first point in time T1 a wireless device with resources for the data transmission, wherein the data transmission is arranged to be from the wireless device to the network node in a wireless communications network (Shin Fig. 17 S1710 Receive configuration information on preconfigured UL resource and [0668] First, in the RRC connected state, the terminal receives configuration information for transmitting the uplink data using the PUR),
when the wireless device is in an inactive mobility state (Shin [0670] Then, the terminal transitions from the RRC connected state to the RRC idle state (S2420)),
receive an indication from the wireless device, wherein the indication is configured to indicate whether or not the TA for the resources configured at T1 for the data transmission is valid at a second point in time T2 as arranged to be decided by the wireless device (Shin [0581] Thereafter, the UE may operate to report to the base station that it has updated its TA by the corresponding TA command through the initial PUR transmitted by applying the corresponding TA command. the base station directly receives an indication from the terminal that the TA of the corresponding UE is invalid through a physical channel such as a feedback channel may be applicable)
As to claim 28, Shin teaches the method according to claim 27, wherein: the indication to the network node is sent when it has been decided that the TA for the resources configured at T1 for the data transmission is not valid at T2, wherein the indication indicates that the TA is not valid at T2 (Shin [0581] Thereafter, the UE may operate to report to the base station that it has updated its TA by the corresponding TA command through the initial PUR transmitted by applying the corresponding TA command. the base station directly receives an indication from the terminal that the TA of the corresponding UE is invalid through a physical channel such as a feedback channel may be applicable)
Claim 38 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 28.
As to claim 29, Shin teaches the method according to any of claims 27, wherein: the deciding of whether or not the TA for the resources configured at T1 for the data transmission is valid at T2 is based on one or more conditions (Shin [0555] Here, the TA validity confirmation algorithm may be configured to consist of AND operation of various criteria such as TA validity timer, (N) RSRP detection, indicates X dBm as NRSRP level, the NRSRP level is greater than or equal to X dBm at that time, and transmit the PUR)
Claim 39 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 29.
As to claim 30, Shin teaches the method according to claim 27, wherein the configured resources comprise one or more of the following: one or more configured Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resources (Shin [0434] FIG. 19 illustrates an example of signaling between a base station and a UE performing idle mode preconfigured UL resource transmission/reception of one or more physical channels/signals and [0654] The base station may configure UL information to each UE through SIB or RRC signaling. The configuration may include share resource, PUSCH for each UE, (re-)activation/deactivation/retransmission channel/signal configuration (e.g., period, offset, etc.).
[0655] Subsequently, the activated UEs may be configured to transmit NPUSCH in the share resource according to their configuration)
one or more beams associated with the configured resources, and transmission periodicity using the configured resources.
Claim 40 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 30.
As to claim 31, Shin teaches the method according to claim 30, wherein the one or more conditions comprise one or more of the following: whether or not the one or more configured resources comprising PUSCH resources fulfill a first threshold, whether or not the one or more beams associated with the configured resources fulfill a second threshold, whether or not the transmission periodicity using the configured resources fulfills a third threshold K, whether or not a magnitude of change in serving cell Reference Signal Receive Power (RSRP) fulfils a fourth threshold (Shin [0555] Here, the TA validity confirmation algorithm may be configured to consist of AND operation of various criteria such as TA validity timer, (N) RSRP detection, indicates X dBm as NRSRP level, the NRSRP level is greater than or equal to X dBm at that time, and transmit the PUR) whether or not beam changes for the one or more beams associated with the configured resources occurred between time T1 and time T2, and whether or not a number of beams associated with the configured resources have changed between time T1 and time T2.
Claim 41 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 31.
As to claim 32, Shin teaches the method according to claim 29, wherein the one or more conditions are based on a timer, the timer expiring at a third point in time T3, and wherein the one or more conditions comprise one or more of the following:
whether or not a time difference between T2 and T3 fulfills a fifth threshold (Shin [0581] Thereafter, the UE may operate to report to the base station that it has updated its TA by the corresponding TA command through the initial PUR transmitted by applying the corresponding TA command. As mentioned above, the algorithm that can expect that the TA of the UE will become invalid before the next PUR transmission may correspond to a case where NACK for PUR transmission is (continuously) received a certain number of times (e.g., X times) (or Y % within a specific duration) or more, or a case where ACK is not received a specific number of times (e.g., X times) (or Y % within a specific duration). In addition, this may correspond to a case where the UE directly determines when the TA validity timer (time difference between T2 and T3) known to the UE expires and expires before the next PUR),
whether or not ((T3 -St2) - (T2 ±Stl) fulfills a sixth threshold, wherein the TA becomes invalid at T2 and Time alignment Timer (TAT) is configured to expire at T3, wherein St1
PNG
media_image1.png
13
5
media_image1.png
Greyscale
corresponds to time between T2 and closest Preconfigured Uplink Resources (PUR) occasion in time, and wherein St2 corresponds to time between T3 and closest PUR occasion in time, and
whether or not T3 fulfills a seventh threshold.
Claim 42 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 32.
As to claim 33, Shin teaches the method according to claim 27, wherein the sending of the indication to the network node comprises sending an explicit or implicit indication. (Shin [0581] Thereafter, the UE may operate to report to the base station that it has updated its TA by the corresponding TA command through the initial PUR transmitted by applying the corresponding TA command. the base station directly receives (explicit) an indication from the terminal that the TA of the corresponding UE is invalid through a physical channel such as a feedback channel may be applicable)
Claim 43 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 33.
As to claim 35, Shin teaches the method according to claim 34, further comprising: handling the resources based on the received indication (Shin [0540] Characteristically, during the RACH procedure for the TA update and/or until it is confirmed that the TA is valid, the SPS configuration indicated by the RRC is configured to be invalid, and the it may be configured that the UE does not perform the corresponding transmission/reception operation. [0227] Thereafter, when resource allocation for the terminal is no longer required, signaling for releasing frequency resource allocation can be transmitted from the base station to the terminal. This release of the allocation of the frequency resource region may be referred to as deactivation and [0595] Alternatively, when the UE does not receive the TA update command from the base station for a time duration in which the TA update command can be received, the UE may determine that the currently owned PUR configuration is invalid (i.e., has been released). In this case, the operation that the UE thinks to release the PUR (the base station must also be aware of that) may be a desirable operation from the viewpoint of resource utilization of the base station. In addition, since the actual TA may have changed a lot, it may be desirable to operate conservatively until explicit information is received from the base station)
Claim 45 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 35.
As to claim 36, Shin teaches the method according to claim 35, wherein the handling of the resources comprises one or more of the following: releasing the configured resources for data transmission and/or configuring the released resources to one or more other wireless devices (Shin [0540] Characteristically, during the RACH procedure for the TA update and/or until it is confirmed that the TA is valid, the SPS configuration indicated by the RRC is configured to be invalid, and the it may be configured that the UE does not perform the corresponding transmission/reception operation. [0227] Thereafter, when resource allocation for the terminal is no longer required, signaling for releasing frequency resource allocation can be transmitted from the base station to the terminal. This release of the allocation of the frequency resource region may be referred to as deactivation and [0595] Alternatively, when the UE does not receive the TA update command from the base station for a time duration in which the TA update command can be received, the UE may determine that the currently owned PUR configuration is invalid (i.e., has been released). In this case, the operation that the UE thinks to release the PUR (the base station must also be aware of that) may be a desirable operation from the viewpoint of resource utilization of the base station. In addition, since the actual TA may have changed a lot, it may be desirable to operate conservatively until explicit information is received from the base station)
Claim 46 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 36.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/25/25 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. With respect to claim 27 the applicant states” Notably, each of the Office Action's findings above relate to a single discussion of an example method in Shin, as illustrated in Shin's Figure 24. (The step of determining the validity of the TA is not shown in that figure, however.) But, the Office Action's next finding, with respect to the step of "sending an indication indicating whether or not the TA for the resources configured for the data transmission at T1 is valid at a second point in time T2 as decided," jumps to an entirely different discussion in Shin. The Office Action specifically points to Shin's paragraph 0581, which says that "the UE may operate to report to the base station that it has updated its TA by the corresponding command through the initial PUR transmitted by applying the corresponding TA command." This is a completely distinct procedure from that illustrated in Shin's Figure 24, as described in the other paragraphs cited by the Office Action.” (Applicant remarks page 2). The examiner respectfully disagrees. Shin teaches in order paragraphs [0667]-[0676] the steps of claim 27.
[0666] FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a terminal for transmitting uplink data using PUR proposed in the present disclosure.
[0667] That is, FIG. 24 shows a method for transmitting uplink data using a preconfigured uplink resource (PUR) in a wireless communication system.
[0668] First, in the RRC connected state, the terminal receives configuration information for transmitting the uplink data using the PUR in the RRC idle state from the base station (S2410).
[0669] The configuration information may include information on a transmission interval of the uplink data and information on the number of repetitions of transmission of the uplink data.
[0670] Then, the terminal transitions from the RRC connected state to the RRC idle state (S2420).
[0671] In addition, in the RRC idle state, the terminal transmits the uplink data to the base station using the PUR based on the configuration information (S2430).
[0672] Additionally, the terminal may determine the validity of a configured timing advance (TA).
[0673] More specifically, the terminal determines the validity of the TA based on the TA validity timer, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) detection information, and time difference of arrival (TDoA) information.
[0674] More specifically, the validity of the TA may be determined by the AND operation of the TA validity timer, the RSRP detection information and the TDoA.
[0675] That is, when the TA validity timer, the RSRP detection information and the TDoA are all positive, the TA may be determined to be valid.
[0676] As a result of determining the validity of the TA, if the TA is not valid, the terminal performs a random access procedure for updating the TA. The examiner is mapping the performing of the random access procedure to an indication to the network which indicates (whether or not the TA is valid), essentially the random access procedure is the indication and it indicates the TA is not valid. For these reasons the examiner maintains the rejection.
Conclusion
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AYANAH S GEORGE whose telephone number is (571)272-8880. The examiner can normally be reached 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Hassan Phillips can be reached at 572-272-3940. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
AYANAH S. GEORGE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2467
/AYANAH S GEORGE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2467
Prosecution Insights