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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 04/21/2025 has been entered. Claims 1, 9, 12-13, and 18 are amended.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 and 18 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 5-6 have been considered but are not persuasive. Prior art of record Kim’568 teaches the claimed features as shown below.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 5-6 have been considered but are not persuasive. Prior art of record Kim teaches the claimed features as shown below
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 9 and 12-13 have been considered but are not persuasive. Prior art of record Kim teaches the claimed features as shown below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 9-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) based upon a public use or sale or other public availability of the invention, Kim et al. (WO 2020/171369), hereinafter Kim.
Regarding Claim 9, Kim teaches: A method, in a distributed unit (DU) of a distributed base station, for facilitating uplink data communication between a UE and a central unit (CU) of the distributed base station: “when the UE tries to resume the RRC connection due to the small uplink data, there is no user plane connection between the gNB-DU and the gNB-CU-UP. Therefore, the gNB-CU-CP should initiate the UE context setup procedure to establish the UP connection between the gNB-DU and the gNB-CU-UP” (Kim ¶ 275), the method comprising: receiving, a control-plane message from the UE: “the DU may receive a RRC resume request message including user data with the UPID from the wireless device. The user data may be mobile oriented (MO) data” (Kim ¶ 281); selecting, when the DU stores a context for the UE, a first type of a DU-to-CU message: “a distributed unit (DU) of a network node may receive a UE context release message including a user plane ID (UPID) from control plane (CP) of a central unit (CU) of the network node. The UPID may inform that the user UPID is for uplink data fast transmission . . . the DU may transmit the user data to CU based on the UPID. The uplink data transmission may be performed without state transition of the wireless device. The transmitting the user data may include multiplexing the user data with the RRC resume request message . . . if the UP ID is included into the RRC resume request message, the DU may be able to find the TNL address information for the CU-UP having the suspended UE context based on the mapping table which is preconfigured in FIG. 8. If the F1 UL UP TNL information is received, the DU may take advantage of the F1 UL UP TNL information to easily forward the UL data to the corresponding CU-UP . . . The UE may send RRC reconfiguration complete message to the DU. The DU may encapsulate the RRC message in the UL RRC message transfer message and send it to the CU” (Kim ¶ 278, 282, 323, and 351); otherwise selecting, when the DU does not store the context for the UE, a second type of the DU-to-CU message: “In step S1602, the DU may be preconfigured for common F1 UL UP TNL information for UDFT as described in FIG. 15. Thus, the DU may efficiently determine appropriate UP when UL data is received from a UE. In step S1604, the UE may transmit RRC resume request message to DU. In specific, upon connection resumption request for mobile originated data from the upper layers, the UE may initiate the uplink data fast transmission procedure and selects a random access preamble configured for UDFT. Then, the UE may send an RRC resume request message or new message to the DU. The user data may be ciphered and transmitted on DTCH multiplexed with the RRC resume request message on CCCH. If the RRC establishment cause for UDFT in UP CIoT Optimization is newly defined, the newly defined element may be included into the RRC message. In step S1606, in the DU, the UL data may be de-multiplexed with the RRC resume request message. Then, the DU may include the corresponding low layer configuration for the UE in the initial UL RRC message transfer message into the RRC message, and the DU may transfer it to the CU. The initial UL RRC message transfer message may include the C-RNTI allocated by the DU.” (Kim ¶ 353-355); and transmitting, to the CU, the control-plane message in the selected type of the DU-to-CU message: “If the MME or the eNB decides to move the UE in RRC_CONNECTED mode, RRCConnectionSetup message is sent in step 8 to fall back to the legacy RRC Connection establishment procedure; the eNB will discard the zero-length NAS PDU received in msg5” (Kim ¶ 216).
Regarding Claim 10, Kim teaches: The method of claim 9, wherein the control-plane message is an UL Common Control Channel (CCCH) message: “The user data may be ciphered and transmitted on DTCH multiplexed with the RRC resume request message on CCCH. The UE may also provide to the DU the UP ID or TNL address information which was received in FIG. 10, in order to enable the DU to quickly forward the UL data to the CU-UP storing the UE context” (Kim ¶ 321).
Regarding Claim 11, Kim teaches: The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the control-plane message includes receiving uplink data associated with early data transmission: “Uplink user data are transmitted on DTCH multiplexed with UL RRCConnectionResumeRequest message on CCCH” (Kim ¶ 218).
Regarding Claim 12, Kim teaches: The method of claim 8, wherein the selecting includes: selecting the Initial UL RRC Message Transfer type in response to determining that the DU stores the context: “the DU may transmit the user data to CU based on the UPID. The uplink data transmission may be performed without state transition of the wireless device. The transmitting the user data may include multiplexing the user data with the RRC resume request message” (Kim ¶ 282).
Regarding Claim 12, Kim teaches: The method of claim 8, wherein the selecting includes: selecting an Initial UL RRC Message Transfer type in response to determining that the DU stores the context: “a distributed unit (DU) of a network node may receive a UE context release message including a user plane ID (UPID) from control plane (CP) of a central unit (CU) of the network node. The UPID may inform that the user UPID is for uplink data fast transmission . . . the DU may transmit the user data to CU based on the UPID. The uplink data transmission may be performed without state transition of the wireless device. The transmitting the user data may include multiplexing the user data with the RRC resume request message . . . if the UP ID is included into the RRC resume request message, the DU may be able to find the TNL address information for the CU-UP having the suspended UE context based on the mapping table which is preconfigured in FIG. 8. If the F1 UL UP TNL information is received, the DU may take advantage of the F1 UL UP TNL information to easily forward the UL data to the corresponding CU-UP . . . The UE may send RRC reconfiguration complete message to the DU. The DU may encapsulate the RRC message in the UL RRC message transfer message and send it to the CU” (Kim ¶ 278, 282, 323, and 351).
Regarding Claim 13, Kim teaches: The method of claim 8, wherein the selecting includes: selecting a UL RRC Message Transfer type in response to determining that the DU does not store the context: “In step S1602, the DU may be preconfigured for common F1 UL UP TNL information for UDFT as described in FIG. 15. Thus, the DU may efficiently determine appropriate UP when UL data is received from a UE. In step S1604, the UE may transmit RRC resume request message to DU. In specific, upon connection resumption request for mobile originated data from the upper layers, the UE may initiate the uplink data fast transmission procedure and selects a random access preamble configured for UDFT. Then, the UE may send an RRC resume request message or new message to the DU. The user data may be ciphered and transmitted on DTCH multiplexed with the RRC resume request message on CCCH. If the RRC establishment cause for UDFT in UP CIoT Optimization is newly defined, the newly defined element may be included into the RRC message. In step S1606, in the DU, the UL data may be de-multiplexed with the RRC resume request message. Then, the DU may include the corresponding low layer configuration for the UE in the initial UL RRC message transfer message into the RRC message, and the DU may transfer it to the CU. The initial UL RRC message transfer message may include the C-RNTI allocated by the DU.” (Kim ¶ 353-355).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-3, 7-8, and 18 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in further view of Bao et al. (US 2022/0217810), hereinafter Bao.
Regarding Claim 1, Kim teaches: A method in a base station for managing data communication with a UE: “The eNB initiates the S1-AP Initial UE message procedure to forward the NAS message and establish the S1 connection. The eNB may indicate in this procedure that this connection is triggered for EDT” (Kim ¶ 209), the method comprising: performing, by processing hardware, early data communication with the UE operating in an inactive state: “With the introduction of the new RRC state (i.e., RRC-INACTIVE state) in NR, the UE may incur minimum signaling, minimize power consumption, minimize resource costs in the network. In order to support this concept in NR, the UE may also be able to transmit the data without state transition from the RRC-INACTIVE to the RRC-CONNECTED. Early data transmission (EDT) refers to the operation of transmitting data before the RRC connection setup is completed, if the size of the data to be transmitted is small. In other words, according to the EDT, data transmission is allowed even when the UE is not in the RRC connection state” (Kim ¶ 198); and transmitting, by the processing hardware and in response to the determining, to the UE, a message that causes the UE to transition to the connected state: “If the MME or the eNB decides to move the UE in RRC_CONNECTED mode, RRCConnectionSetup message is sent in step 8 to fall back to the legacy RRC Connection establishment procedure; the eNB will discard the zero-length NAS PDU received in msg5” (Kim ¶ 216).
Kim does not teach: receiving, during early data communication (EDT), at least one of: non-early data transmission (non-EDT) downlink (DL) data addressed to the UE, or an explicit command from a core network to transition to a connected state; determining, during the early data communication, that the UE should transition to a connected state in response to receiving at least one of: the non-EDT DL data addressed to the UE, or the explicit command from the core network to transition to the connected state.
Regarding Claim 1, Bao teaches: receiving, during early data communication (EDT), at least one of: non-early data transmission (non-EDT) downlink (DL) data addressed to the UE, or an explicit command from a core network to transition to a connected state: “The network side device parses the Msg3 message, and can obtain the identity and authentication information of the terminal from the message. If there is authentication information, the authentication information is sent to the core network for authentication. After authentication succeeds, the network side device obtains terminal data from the core network according to the identity of the terminal. At this time, if the terminal needs to enter the connected state based on downlink data of the terminal (for example, a large amount of downlink data arrives, which is not suitable for transmission only through DL EDT) or other conditions (for example, the terminal needs to trigger a new service, such as voice or video), the network side sends an RRC connection setup message that piggybacks a small amount of data to the terminal through Msg4. For example, the DedicatedInfoNAS field is added to the message, and this field is optional and used for piggybacking downlink early data” (Bao ¶ 0068); determining, during the early data communication, that the UE should transition to a connected state in response to receiving at least one of: the non-EDT DL data addressed to the UE, or the explicit command from the core network to transition to the connected state: “The terminal receives the Msg4, parses the RRC connection setup message and the data therein, and performs data processing and connection setup operations. The 4-step RACH process ends. The transmission of the predetermined data is completed and the terminal switches to the RRC connected state. At this point, the 4-step RACH process ends” (Bao ¶ 0070).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Kim with Bao for the purpose of reducing transmission delay. According to Bao: “The EDT data is directly sent in the RRC connection setup message, so that a small amount of data is transmitted, and the terminal can enter the RRC connected state from the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state, which reduces the transmission delay of early small data and improves the system efficiency” (Bao ¶ 0071).
Regarding Claim 2, Kim teaches: The method of claim 1, wherein performing the early data communication includes performing mobile-originating (MO) early data communication: “Upon connection establishment request for Mobile Originated data from the upper layers, the UE initiates the early data transmission procedure and selects a random access preamble configured for EDT” (Kim ¶ 207).
Regarding Claim 3, Kim teaches: The method of claim 1, further comprising: subsequently to the transmitting, communicating with the UE operating in the connected state: “the CU-CP may decide whether the RRC state transition is needed or not. The CU-CP may determine whether the RRC state transition is needed, based on the expected UE behavior, AS based Release Assistance Information by UE, and so on. When no further subsequent data are expected or there is only one acknowledgement for the UL data, the CU-CP may decide to keep the UE in RRC_IDLE with suspended state. If not, the CU-CP may decide to move the UE in RRC_CONNECTED state for potential subsequent UL or DL” (Kim ¶ 327).
Regarding Claim 7, Kim teaches: The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the message includes transmitting an RRC resume message to the UE: “If the MME or eNB decides the UE to move in RRC_CONNECTED mode, RRCConnectionResume message is sent in step 7 to fall back to the legacy RRC Connection resume procedure” (Kim ¶ 232).
Regarding Claim 8, Kim teaches: The method of claim 1, wherein: the base station is a distributed base station: “A distributed unit (DU) 1710 includes a processor 1711, a memory 1712, and a transceiver 1713. The memory 1712 is coupled to the processor 1711, and stores a variety of information for driving the processor 1711. The transceiver 1713 is coupled to the processor 1711, and transmits and/or receives a radio signal. The processor 1711 implements the proposed functions, procedures, and/or methods. In the aforementioned embodiments, an operation of the wireless device 1710 may be implemented by the processor 1711” (Kim ¶ 368), and the method is implemented in a central unit (CU) of the base station: “The central unit (CU) 1720 includes a processor 1721, a memory 1722 and a transceiver 1723. The memory 1722 is coupled to the processor 1721 to store various information for driving the processor 1721. Transceiver 1723 is coupled to processor 1721 to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. Processor 1721 implements the proposed functionality, process and / or method. In the above-described embodiment, the operation of the CU can be implemented by the processor 1721” (Kim ¶ 369).
Regarding Claim 18, Kim teaches: A method implemented in a central unit (CU) of a distributed base station, for managing data communication with a UE via a distributed unit (DU) of the distributed base station: “when the UE tries to resume the RRC connection due to the small uplink data, there is no user plane connection between the gNB-DU and the gNB-CU-UP. Therefore, the gNB-CU-CP should initiate the UE context setup procedure to establish the UP connection between the gNB-DU and the gNB-CU-UP” (Kim ¶ 275), the method comprising: performing early data communication (EDT) with the UE operating in an inactive state: “With the introduction of the new RRC state (i.e., RRC-INACTIVE state) in NR, the UE may incur minimum signaling, minimize power consumption, minimize resource costs in the network. In order to support this concept in NR, the UE may also be able to transmit the data without state transition from the RRC-INACTIVE to the RRC-CONNECTED. Early data transmission (EDT) refers to the operation of transmitting data before the RRC connection setup is completed, if the size of the data to be transmitted is small. In other words, according to the EDT, data transmission is allowed even when the UE is not in the RRC connection state” (Kim ¶ 198); obtaining, from the DU, a radio configuration for the UE: “the DU may include the RRC message and, if the UE is admitted, the corresponding low layer configuration for the UE in the initial UL RRC message transfer message and transfer to the CU. The initial UL RRC message transfer message may include the C-RNTI allocated by the DU” (Kim ¶ 322); and transmitting, by the processing hardware and in response to the determining and via the DU, to the UE, a message that causes the UE to transition to the connected state, the message including the radio configuration: “If the MME or the eNB decides to move the UE in RRC_CONNECTED mode, RRCConnectionSetup message is sent in step 8 to fall back to the legacy RRC Connection establishment procedure; the eNB will discard the zero-length NAS PDU received in msg5” (Kim ¶ 216).
Kim does not teach: receiving, during early data communication (EDT), at least one of: non-early data transmission (non-EDT) downlink (DL) data addressed to the UE, or an explicit command from a core network to transition to a connected state; determining, during the early data communication, that the UE should transition to a connected state in response to receiving at least one of: the non-EDT DL data addressed to the UE, or the explicit command from the core network to transition to the connected state.
Regarding Claim 18, Bao teaches: receiving, during early data communication (EDT), at least one of: non-early data transmission (non-EDT) downlink (DL) data addressed to the UE, or an explicit command from a core network to transition to a connected state: “The network side device parses the Msg3 message, and can obtain the identity and authentication information of the terminal from the message. If there is authentication information, the authentication information is sent to the core network for authentication. After authentication succeeds, the network side device obtains terminal data from the core network according to the identity of the terminal. At this time, if the terminal needs to enter the connected state based on downlink data of the terminal (for example, a large amount of downlink data arrives, which is not suitable for transmission only through DL EDT) or other conditions (for example, the terminal needs to trigger a new service, such as voice or video), the network side sends an RRC connection setup message that piggybacks a small amount of data to the terminal through Msg4. For example, the DedicatedInfoNAS field is added to the message, and this field is optional and used for piggybacking downlink early data” (Bao ¶ 0068); determining, during the early data communication, that the UE should transition to a connected state in response to receiving at least one of: the non-EDT DL data addressed to the UE, or the explicit command from the core network to transition to the connected state: “The terminal receives the Msg4, parses the RRC connection setup message and the data therein, and performs data processing and connection setup operations. The 4-step RACH process ends. The transmission of the predetermined data is completed and the terminal switches to the RRC connected state. At this point, the 4-step RACH process ends” (Bao ¶ 0070).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Kim with Bao for the purpose of reducing transmission delay. According to Bao: “The EDT data is directly sent in the RRC connection setup message, so that a small amount of data is transmitted, and the terminal can enter the RRC connected state from the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state, which reduces the transmission delay of early small data and improves the system efficiency” (Bao ¶ 0071).
Claims 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim and Bao as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kim et al. (US 2023/0051568), hereinafter Kim’568.
Regarding Claim 5, Kim and Bao teach: The method of claim 1.
Kim and Bao do not teach: the determining is further based on a radio bearer (RB) with which the DL data is associated.
Regarding Claim 5, Kim’568 teaches: the determining is further based on a radio bearer (RB) with which the DL data is associated: “In an example, as shown in FIG. 24, the second base station may send, based on the determining, QoS parameters of QoS flows (or a DRB or a logical channel) of the downlink data. The response message may further comprise the QoS parameters. The second base station may establish, based on the QoS parameters, a downlink Xn user plane (Xn-U) tunnel for data forwarding of the downlink data. The QoS parameters may comprise at least one of: a non-dynamic 5 QoS identifier (5QI) descriptor; a dynamic 5QI descriptor; and allocation and retention priority)” (Kim’568 ¶ 0372) where a new base station may transition the UE to RRC connected based upon the QoS flow/RB: “Based on the retrieve UE context response message, the new base station may send an RRC resume message to the UE. Based on the RRC resume message, the UE may resume the suspended SRBs and DRBs, transition to an RRC connected state and send an RRC resume complete message to the new base station” (Kim’568 ¶ 0307).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosure of Kim and Bao with Kim’586 for the purpose of establishing Xn-U tunnels that support QoS parameters of the DL data. According to Kim’568: “the anchor base station may send QoS parameters of QoS flows (DRBs or logical channels) of the wireless device. For example, the anchor base station may send QoS parameters of QoS flows (DRBs or logical channels) of the expected DL data. This may enable the new base station to establish an Xn-U tunnel supporting QoS parameters/requirements of the DL data to receive the DL data and forward the DL data to the wireless device while supporting QoS requirements of the DL data” (Kim’568 ¶ 0338).
Regarding Claim 6, Kim and Bao teach: The method of claim 3.
Kim and Bao do not teach: the determining is further based on a quality of service (QOS) with which the DL data is associated.
Regarding Claim 6, Kim’568 teaches: the determining is further based on a quality of service (QOS) with which the DL data is associated: “In an example, as shown in FIG. 24, the second base station may send, based on the determining, QoS parameters of QoS flows (or a DRB or a logical channel) of the downlink data. The response message may further comprise the QoS parameters. The second base station may establish, based on the QoS parameters, a downlink Xn user plane (Xn-U) tunnel for data forwarding of the downlink data. The QoS parameters may comprise at least one of: a non-dynamic 5 QoS identifier (5QI) descriptor; a dynamic 5QI descriptor; and allocation and retention priority)” (Kim’568 ¶ 0372) where a new base station may transition the UE to RRC connected based upon the QoS flow/RB: “Based on the retrieve UE context response message, the new base station may send an RRC resume message to the UE. Based on the RRC resume message, the UE may resume the suspended SRBs and DRBs, transition to an RRC connected state and send an RRC resume complete message to the new base station” (Kim’568 ¶ 0307).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosure of Kim and Bao with Kim’568 for the purpose of establishing Xn-U tunnels that support QoS parameters of the DL data. According to Kim’568: “the anchor base station may send QoS parameters of QoS flows (DRBs or logical channels) of the wireless device. For example, the anchor base station may send QoS parameters of QoS flows (DRBs or logical channels) of the expected DL data. This may enable the new base station to establish an Xn-U tunnel supporting QoS parameters/requirements of the DL data to receive the DL data and forward the DL data to the wireless device while supporting QoS requirements of the DL data” (Kim’568 ¶ 0338).
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 BRADLEY DAVIS LYTLE whose telephone number is (703)756-4593. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM EST.
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/B.D.L./Examiner, Art Unit 2473
/BRADLEY D LYTLE JR./Examiner, Art Unit 2473
/KWANG B YAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2473
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