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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 5 depends on claim 4 which has been cancelled. Appropriate correction is required.
Response to Arguments
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Applicant's arguments filed 01/05/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In the response dated 01/05/2026, the applicant alleges that the disclosure(s) of Baek et al. (US 2023/0189295 A1) in view of Kim et al. (US 2023/0232189 A1), do not explicitly disclose:
“that the configuration information includes area information; and a cell list of cells providing one or more MBS multicast service in the RRC_INACTIVE state”.
The office respectfully disagrees. With regard to Baek in particular, the disclosure of Baek teaches transmission of broadcast information to a mobile devices, the broadcast information comprising MBS/MBMS configuration information (fig.2 element 235, and par.[0067]) which depicts the reception at the UE of MBS configuration information. Also, as discussed above, the configuration information comprises an AvailableMBSList, which comprises a list of the cells and the MBS services that they provide, see “the MBS information may include a list of MBS services being already provided or providable by each serving cell”. As can be seen the list of MBS services comprises the list of cells and MBS services each cell provides. By providing the MBS services and the associated cell, the configuration information includes “area information” because cell(s) are configured to service different areas, and the AvailableMBSList comprises a list of cells along with their respective MBS services. As discussed the UE is provided a list of cells, which provide a one or more multicast services in the RRC_CONNECTED, RRC_IDLE, or RRC_INACTIVE state, by the network. The applicants assertion that the list is not used for roaming is unfounded as discussed above, as the UE may move among the cells and identify the MBS services of interest to the UE.
Therefore, the disclosure of Baek substantially discloses the claimed “that the configuration information includes area information; and a cell list of cells providing one or more MBS multicast service in the RRC_INACTIVE state”.
The applicant also alleges that the combination of disclosures do not teach:
“an MBS ID, an MBS scheduling ID, and an MBS bearer configuration, wherein the MBS ID indicates an identifier of an MBS session to be received by the UE in the RRC_INACTIVE state, the MBS scheduling ID is a G-RNTI configured to scramble a scheduling of the MBS data, and the MBS bearer configuration of MBS bearer to which the MBS session is mapped”. The office respectfully disagrees with the applicants assertion. As a first matter, the applicant alleges that the disclosure of Kim does not teach an MBS service Identifier, see pg.10 of the remarks dated 01/05/2026, “Firstly, Kim only discloses an MBS identifier. It does not disclose a MBS service ID”. The Office notes that the claim recites, “an MBS ID” and not and “MBS service ID”. Nevertheless the MBS ID of Kim is an MBS service ID because it is an identifier of a Multicast Broadcast Service Identifier. Thus, the MBS ID of Kim is an MBS service ID. Additionally, the applicant alleges that Kim does not a signaling which carries and MBS ID, an MBS scheduling ID, and an MBS bearer configuration, see pg.10 of the Applicants remarks dated 01/05/2026. Again, the claim does not require that each of the above is sent at a same time in a single signaling, the claim teaches that the MBS reception configuration comprises each of the above, which Kim does as acknowledged on pg.10 of the Applicants remarks, and thus, the rejection of the claims are sustained on those reasons alone.
In addition, the disclosure of Kim does teach that the MBS ID, Scheduling ID, and MBS bearer can be sent in a single message, par.[0197] which recites, in part, “the bearer configuration information for the MBS service or the transmission resource information (e.g., time resource, frequency resource, bandwidth, frequency, bandwidth part (or bandwidth part identifier), bandwidth, subcarrier interval, transmission resource period, RNTI identifier for each MBS service, or logical channel identifier for each MBS service) for the MBS service may be configured to the UE” along with par.[0428] which describes the use of the MBS-RNTI (i.e. MBS-ID) and/or a scheduling MBS RNTI, being included in SIB or the RRC message discussed above, “As another method, as described above, the second scheduling information may be indicated by a time resource or a frequency resource configured for downlink MBS service data transmission in system information or an RRC message or a control channel or control message for MBS.”. As can be seen the disclosure of Baek in view of Kim substantially discloses the claimed subject matter, such that the above limitations are obvious in view of the cited prior art references, and the claims are rejected in view of the rebuttal to the applicants arguments above.
In addition to the above statements of fact with regard to the combination of Baek and Kim. Baek discloses a MBS session ID, wherein the MBS session ID indicates an MBS session to be received, as discussed in par.[0067]. The applicant alleges that Baeks MBS session ID is not for a session, however, the par.[0067] explicitly discloses a session ID. Thus it is found that the session ID of Baek is equivalent to the claimed session ID. The applicant similarly alleges that the disclosure of Baek does not teach, the MBS scheduling ID, however, throughout the disclosure of Baek, the G-RNTI is utilized for scheduling MBS on the downlink. For example, the disclosure of Baek at par.[0076] recites, in part, “Herein, a G-RNTI used when terminals belonging to a multicast group receive multicast data may also be configured. The G-RNTI is an RNTI configured to receive transport blocks (TBs), and may be used to indicate scheduling information for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).”.
The applicant also alleges that the RRC Release with configuration for MBS services in Baek is not equivalent, and/or does not teach the transmission of configuration information. With regard to Baek, par.[0089] recites, in part:
“At this time, when the base station 710 determines that RRC connected mode communication with the terminal 720 is no longer necessary, in operation 740, the base station 710 may transmit an RRC release message to the terminal 720 to instruct the terminal 720 to transition to an RRC idle mode or an RRC inactive mode. However, when the terminal 720 is already receiving the MBS services in the RRC connected mode and required to continuously receive the MBS services, MBS configuration for continuously receiving the MBS services in the RRC idle mode or the RRC inactive mode is required for the terminal 720. The MBS configuration for continuously receiving the MBS services may include configuration of a BWP for MBS reception by the terminal 720 in the RRC idle mode or the RRC inactive mode.”
As can be seen the disclosure of Baek teaches an MBS configuration that can be transmitted to the UE while the UE is in the RRC_Connected mode via a RRC_CONNECTION_RELEASE message which transitions the UE into an RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE mode. The configuration can also comprise the BWP configuration, along with the other configuration information as discussed in Baek, see “MBS configuration” and TMGIs, as discussed in the paragraph. The applicants assertion that Baeks configurations sent in the RRC_Release message are, respectfully, incorrect. As the disclosure of Baek teaches an MBS configuration that may also include the BWP configuration, it is reasonable to interpret the stated MBS configuration to comprise the other elements and to include the BWP configuration as discussed in the paragraph. As can be seen the combination of references teaches that a MBS configuration can be sent in a RRC_Release message to configure the UE to continuously receive MBS services while in the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state. As the applicants arguments substantially attack the references alone rather than the combination of references, the applicants arguments are found to be unpersuasive, and the rejections are sustained.
As can be seen the disclosure of Baek substantially discloses the amended subject matter of the claim, and is thus rejected for the reasons given above.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 7-8, 15-16,18, 27-28, and 30-31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baek et al. (US 2023/0189295 A1) in view of Kim et al. (US 2023/0232189 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 27: Baek discloses:
a user equipment (fig.1 depicts a plurality of user equipments), comprising:
a processor (fig.11 element 1120 terminal controller) and a memory for storing instructions (fig.11 element 1130 storage par.[0103 – 0104]) executable by the processor;
wherein the processor is configured to perform:
a method for receiving a multicast broadcast service (MBS) (par.[0006] describes MBS in a mobile communications system) performed by a user equipment (fig.1 depicts a plurality of terminals receiving MBS service), comprising:
receiving configuration indication information (par.[0072] which describes the reception of System Information (SIB) which is a configuration information), wherein the configuration indication indicates MBS reception configuration information (par.[0072] describes the reception of the SIB which comprises the MBS configuration information) along with area information (as will be discussed the area information corresponds to the MBS services as the MBS services are provided by cells which service different areas) to which the MBS reception configuration is applicable (par.[0067] describes reception of an MBS service list which describes the MBS services of each cell or serving cell. The cell or cells providing the MBS service are located in a same or different area as a cell provides coverage over a specific area. Thus, the MBS services associated with different cells implicitly defines an area where the MBS services are applicable because cells support coverage in different regions/areas. Par.[0072] which recites, in part, “In operation 240, the terminal 220 having received the SIB including the MBS information may identify MBS services of interest in the list of MBS services being already provided or providable by each serving cell.”.) from a network side equipment (fig.3 depicts the network side (e.g. the base station) transmitting to the terminal an MBS configuration. Par.[0079 – 0080]); and
receiving MBS data transmitted by a multicast manner (fig.1 depicts a multicast group, and a terminal who is not in the multicast groups, thus, the terminals in the multicast group would receive Point-to-Multipoint (PTM) transmissions, par.[0076], and the single UE may use a PTP bearer or a traditional DRB), based on the MBS reception configuration information and the area information (par.[0079 – 0080] and fig.7 element 740 – 750), in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state or in an RRC inactive state (fig.7 the UE receives the RRC Release message with MB configuration, and then the UE receives the MBS service continued in RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE par.[0007]);
wherein the area information comprises at least one of:
a cell list of cells providing one or more MBS multicast services in the RRC_INACTIVE state (as discussed above the MBS Configuration Information comprises an AvailableMBSList which comprises the MBS services for each cell. By indicating each cells available MBS service, the device can understand which cells offer which MBS services, and which area they can receive those services because each cell services different physical location, par.[0067]. Additionally, the MBS services describe Baek are offered to UE’s in an RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state, and may be resumed by the UE in RRC_CONNECTED state, par.[0035] thus, the disclosure of Baek teaches the MBS services list in the RRC_INACTIVE mode.);
wherein the MBS reception configuration information comprises:
an MBS ID (par.[0067] which describes the MBS session ID), an MBS scheduling ID (par.[0007] which describes the G-RNTI), and wherein the MBS ID indicates an identifier of an MBS session to be received by the UE in the RRC_INACTIVE state (par.[0067] wherein the MBS session information comprises the MBS session ID, which identifies an MBS session. Further, the session may be continue in the RRC_INACTIVE state as discussed above), the MBS scheduling ID is a G-RNTI configured to scramble a scheduling of MBS data (par.[0063] which recites, in part, “The terminals 120, 130, and 140 in the multicast group 160 may be allocated the same group-radio network temporary identity (G-RNTI) from the base station 110 to receive data allocated with the G-RNTI.”).
wherein receiving the configuration indication information from the network side equipment (see rejection of claim 1 and fig.7 wherein the UE receives the MBS configuration information) comprises:
receiving a connection release message from the network side equipment in an RRC connected state (fig.7 depicts the UE receiving a connection release with an MBS configuration); and
obtaining the configuration indication information carried in the connection release message (fig.7 depicts the UE receiving the connection release message sent to the UE with the MBS configuration information).
wherein the configuration indication information comprises the MBS reception configuration information (fig.7 wherein the release message comprises MBS reception information and details the BWP which should be used for MBS reception while the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state).
While the disclosure of Baek teaches:
transmission of MBS configuration information, it does not disclose:
an MBS bearer configuration.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Kim teaches:
an MBS bearer configuration (par.[0197] describes the MBS bearer configuration), and the MBS bearer configuration indicates configuration of MBS bearer to which the MBS session is mapped (par.[0197] the bearer information would implicitly provide an indication of the bearer that the MBS session is mapped to).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the MBS configuration methods as discussed in Baek, with the MBS configuration as discussed in Kim. The motivation/suggestion would have been to reduce the signaling overhead needed to configure a UE with an MBS configuration improving resource utilization, and system operability.
Regarding claim 3, the disclosure of Baek teaches:
the configuration indication information comprises the MBS reception configuration information (fig.7 depicts the RRC_RELEASE comprising the MBS configuration information); or
wherein the configuration indication information indicates that the MBS reception configuration information used in an RRC connected state is used as the MBS reception configuration information used in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state.
Regarding claim 5, Kim discloses:
wherein the MBS reception configuration information further comprises at least one of:
a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration and or a security configuration for MBS reception (par.[0195] describes the MBS configuration with DRX and par.[0618] describes the network configuring the MBS security for the MBS bearers).
Regarding claim 7, Baek discloses:
the area information is indicated by the network side equipment; or
wherein the area information is predefined by a protocol (par.[0067] describes the configuration information comprising the cell list which support the MBS service).
Regarding claim 15, Baek discloses:
in response to an MBS bearer corresponding to the user equipment being a split MBS bearer, suspending a unicast path of the split MBS bearer (fig.13 depicts a path switch instruction sent to the terminal or terminals which effectively suspends one of the two paths of the split bearer. Par.[0112 – 0113]).
Regarding claim 16, Baek discloses:
wherein suspending the unicast path of the split MBS bearer comprises at least one of:
suspending a radio link control (RLC) entity of the unicast path of the split MBS bearer; or
stopping receiving scheduling information of the unicast path of the split MBS bearer (fig.13 and par.[0112 – 0113]).
Regarding claims 18 and 28, Baek discloses:
a network side equipment (fig.1 depicts a base station element 110), comprising:
a processor (fig.10 element 1020 par.[0097 – 0099]) and a memory for storing instructions executable by the processor (fig.10 element 1030 par.[0097 – 0099]);
wherein the processor is configured to perform:
Regarding claims 1 and 27: Baek discloses:
a user equipment (fig.1 depicts a plurality of user equipments), comprising:
a processor (fig.11 element 1120 terminal controller) and a memory for storing instructions (fig.11 element 1130 storage par.[0103 – 0104]) executable by the processor;
wherein the processor is configured to perform:
a method for receiving a multicast broadcast service (MBS) (par.[0006] describes MBS in a mobile communications system) performed by a user equipment (fig.1 depicts a plurality of terminals receiving MBS service), comprising:
transmitting configuration indication information (par.[0072] which describes the reception of System Information (SIB) which is a configuration information), wherein the configuration indication information is used for indicating MBS reception configuration information (par.[0072] describes the reception of the SIB which comprises the MBS configuration information) along with area information (as will be discussed the area information corresponds to the MBS services as the MBS services are provided by cells which service different areas) to which the MBS reception configuration is applicable (par.[0067] describes reception of an MBS service list which describes the MBS services of each cell or serving cell. The cell or cells providing the MBS service are located in a same or different area as a cell provides coverage over a specific area. Thus, the MBS services associated with different cells implicitly defines an area where the MBS services are applicable because cells support coverage in different regions/areas. Par.[0072] which recites, in part, “In operation 240, the terminal 220 having received the SIB including the MBS information may identify MBS services of interest in the list of MBS services being already provided or providable by each serving cell.”.) from a network side equipment (fig.3 depicts the network side (e.g. the base station) transmitting to the terminal an MBS configuration. Par.[0079 – 0080]); and
transmitting MBS data transmitted by a multicast manner (fig.1 depicts a multicast group, and a terminal who is not in the multicast groups, thus, the terminals in the multicast group would receive Point-to-Multipoint (PTM) transmissions, par.[0076], and the single UE may use a PTP bearer or a traditional DRB), based on the MBS reception configuration information and the area information (par.[0079 – 0080] and fig.7 element 740 – 750), in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state or in an RRC inactive state (fig.7 the UE receives the RRC Release message with MB configuration, and then the UE receives the MBS service continued in RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE par.[0007]);
wherein the area information comprises at least one of:
a cell list of cells providing one or more MBS multicast services in the RRC_INACTIVE state (as discussed above the MBS Configuration Information comprises an AvailableMBSList which comprises the MBS services for each cell. By indicating each cells available MBS service, the device can understand which cells offer which MBS services, and which area they can receive those services because each cell services different physical location, par.[0067]. Additionally, the MBS services describe Baek are offered to UE’s in an RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state, and may be resumed by the UE in RRC_CONNECTED state, par.[0035] thus, the disclosure of Baek teaches the MBS services list in the RRC_INACTIVE mode.);
wherein the MBS reception configuration information comprises:
an MBS ID (par.[0067] which describes the MBS session ID), an MBS scheduling ID (par.[0007] which describes the G-RNTI), and wherein the MBS ID indicates an identifier of an MBS session to be received by the UE in the RRC_INACTIVE state (par.[0067] wherein the MBS session information comprises the MBS session ID, which identifies an MBS session. Further, the session may be continue in the RRC_INACTIVE state as discussed above), the MBS scheduling ID is a G-RNTI configured to scramble a scheduling of MBS data (par.[0063] which recites, in part, “The terminals 120, 130, and 140 in the multicast group 160 may be allocated the same group-radio network temporary identity (G-RNTI) from the base station 110 to receive data allocated with the G-RNTI.”).
While the disclosure of Baek teaches:
transmission of MBS configuration information, it does not disclose:
an MBS bearer configuration.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Kim teaches:
an MBS bearer configuration (par.[0197] describes the MBS bearer configuration), and the MBS bearer configuration indicates configuration of MBS bearer to which the MBS session is mapped (par.[0197] the bearer information would implicitly provide an indication of the bearer that the MBS session is mapped to).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the MBS configuration methods as discussed in Baek, with the MBS configuration as discussed in Kim. The motivation/suggestion would have been to reduce the signaling overhead needed to configure a UE with an MBS configuration improving resource utilization, and system operability.
Regarding claim 30, Baek discloses:
In response to the user equipment being in an RRC connected state, transmitting a connection release message for carrying the configuration indication information (par.[0080] which recites, in part, “The initial BWP configuration message may be periodically transmitted using a SIB, or transmitted when the terminal transitions to the RRC idle mode or the RRC inactive mode based on an RRC release message or the like.” The initial BWP configuration message may be periodically transmitted using a SIB, or transmitted when the terminal transitions to the RRC idle mode or the RRC inactive mode based on an RRC release message or the like.”. The office notes that the disclosure of Baek teaches the use of periodic broadcasts to the configure the MBS, or the RRC message which is sent to a UE in the RRC_CONNECTED state).
Regarding claim 31, Kim discloses:
Wherein the MBS reception configuration information comprises:
an MBS ID (par.[0018] discloses an MBS ID, par.[0197]), an MBS scheduling ID (par.[0428] describes an identifier for MBS scheduling), and an MBS bearer configuration (par.[0197] describes the MBS bearer configuration).
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baek in view of Kim as applied to the independent claims, and further in view of Lee et al. (US 9,781,649 B2).
Regarding claim 8, the disclosure(s) of Baek and Kim discloses the reception of configuration information for the purpose of establishing and/or modifying MBS reception at a user equipment, but may not explicitly disclose:
wherein the information further comprises at least one of:
a cell type, an MBS area ID, an access network notification area ID, or a track area ID.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Lee teaches:
wherein the information further comprises at least one of:
a cell type, an MBS area ID, an access network notification area ID, or a track area ID (claim 1, which recites in part, “receiving a system information block (SIB) while operating in the first cell, the SIB including a service area identity (SAI) identifying one or more cells where MBMS service is available and information mapping the SAI to a physical cell identity (PCI) associated with the neighboring cell, the SAI further identifying an MBMS service type of the neighboring cell to which the PCI is assigned”. The SAI being a MBS area ID).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Baek and Kim for providing MBS configuration information to a mobile device, with the MBS configuration information as discussed in Lee. The motivation/suggestion would have been that including identifiers in a configuration message allows for the UE to appropriately select a service and is a common and known technique in the art.
Claim(s) 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baek and Kim as discussed above with regard to the independent claims, in view of Zhang et al. (US 2023/0319905 A1).
Regarding claim 9, the disclosure of Baek and Kim teaches the UE receiving MBS in a cell or group of cells, but does not explicitly disclose:
in response to the user equipment moving out of an area indicated by the area information, or a change on an interest of the user equipment in receiving MBS data, or the user equipment receiving a reception configuration change message from the network side equipment, triggering a connection resumption process.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Zhang teaches:
in response to the user equipment moving out of an area indicated by the area information, or a change on an interest of the user equipment in receiving MBS data, or the user equipment receiving a reception configuration change message from the network side equipment, triggering a connection resumption process (fig.6 element 601 – 602 which describes the UE transmitting the RRC_RESUME when the UE moves to another cell).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Baek and Kim which teaches reception of MBS in the RRC_INACTIVE state, with the disclosure of Zhang, which describes when the UE moves to a new cell that does not have a certain MBS service context. The motivation/suggestion would have been to provide a previous MBS context on the target cell so that the UE may utilize the MBS service on the new cell.
Regarding claim 10, Zhang discloses:
in response to the connection resumption process being triggered by the user equipment moving out of the area indicated by the area information, indicating to the network side equipment that a connection resumption reason is an MBS reception area update or an MBS reception area change (par.[0224 – 0225] which teaches the UE moving to a target cell does not have an MBS session); or
in response to the connection resumption process being triggered by the change on the interest of the user equipment in receiving MBS data, indicating to the network side equipment that a connection resumption reason is an MBS interest change or transmitting an uplink signaling; or
in response to the connection resumption process being triggered by the reception configuration change message, indicating to the network side equipment that a connection resumption reason is at least one of:
an MBS configuration update, an MBS reception area update, or an MBS reception area change;
wherein the network side equipment is an equipment that the user equipment accesses for the connection resumption process (fig.6 and par.[0212 -213 and 0224 – 0225]).
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baek and Kim as discussed above with regard to the independent claims, in view of Fujishiro et al. (US 2023/0262423 A1).
Regarding claim 11, the disclosure of Baek and Kim teaches claim 6, but does not disclose:
setting a frequency point or a cell corresponding to the area information as a high-priority frequency point or a high-priority cell for the user equipment to perform a cell selection or reselection.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Fujishiro discloses:
setting a frequency point or a cell corresponding to the area information as a high-priority frequency point or a high-priority cell for the user equipment to perform a cell selection or reselection (par.[0178 - 0179] which describes a high priority frequency or cell for cell reselection).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings Baek and Kim for MBS transmission, with the cell selection reselection priority as discussed by Fujishiro. The motivation/suggestion would have been to ensure the necessary resources to facilitate MBS are available to users who wish to participate in the MBS service (Fujishiro: par.[0179]).
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baek, Kim, and Zhang as discussed above with regard to claim 9, in view of Kim et al. (US 2023/0239660 A1), hereinafter known as Kim-660.
Regarding claim 13, the disclosure of Baek, Kim, and Zhang teaches the independent claims, but does not explicitly disclose:
wherein, the reception configuration change message is indicated by the network side equipment through an RRC message or physical channel information.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Kim teaches:
wherein, the reception configuration change message is indicated by the network side equipment through an RRC message or physical channel information (par.[0263]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Baek, Kim, and Zhang with the disclosure of Kim-660. The motivation/suggestion would have been that the use of layer-3 signaling of physical layer signaling is well -known technique for conveying control information in a wireless communications network.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baek and Kim as discussed above with regard to claim 16, in view of Kim et al. (US 2021/0392467 A1), hereinafter known as Kim-467
Regarding claim 17, the disclosure of Baek and Kim teaches claim 16, but does not explicitly disclose:
in response to the user equipment triggering a connection resumption process and receiving an indication for resuming an RRC connection from the network side equipment, resuming the unicast path of the MBS bearer.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Kim-467 teaches:
in response to the user equipment triggering a connection resumption process and receiving an indication for resuming an RRC connection from the network side equipment, resuming the unicast path of the MBS bearer (par.[0524]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Baek and Kim for MBS transmission in the Idle or Inactive state with the disclosure of Kim-467. The motivation/suggestion would have been to configure a bearer preferred by the network or UE for continuing MBS service.
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.
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JAMAAL HENSON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2411
/JAMAAL HENSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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