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
Applicant’s submission filed on 10/01/2025 has been entered. Claims 1 and 22-40 are pending.
Claim Interpretation
For the purposes of examination, the following claim interpretations are made:
the use of “and/or” in claims 1 and 33 is interpreted as equivalent to “or”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The claims recite the limitation "based on 5MBS quality of service (QoS) requirements independently determined by . There is an association with a 5MBS QoS requirement in the Applicant’s specification at least in pars. [0040], par. [0059], pars. [0061-0068], and Fig. 13, but there is no indication of the base stations independently determining the QoS requirements as claimed.
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, 22, 26-33, 35, and 40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2023/0124420), hereinafter "Kim1", in view of Di Girolamo et al. (WO 2022/031915), hereinafter “Di Girolamo”, and further in view of Shrivastava et al. (US 2020/0351639), hereinafter “Shrivastava”.
Regarding claim 1, Kim1 teaches:
A wireless communication method for multicast and broadcast service (MBS) by a user equipment (UE) (see Kim1, Fig. 1D, par. [0071], lines 1-2: A flowchart of operations of a UE to be provided an MBS), comprising:
being configured with a shared-5G multicast and broadcast service network (S-5MBSN) configuration information (see Kim1, Fig. 1E, item 1e-25, par. [0083], lines 1-8: In operation 1e-25, the UE 1e-05 having switched to the connected mode to receive the MBS may receive, from the source BS 1e-10, an RRCReconfiguration message including MBS configuration information. The RRCReconfiguration message may include configuration information about signaling radio bearer 2 (SRB2), data radio bearer (DRB), and MBS DRB. Here, the MBS DRB indicates a data radio bearer to deliver MBS data); and
continuously receiving, from the at least one of the first base station and the second base station, a shared MBS data transmission during a radio resource control (RRC) inactive or RRC idle UE mobility (see Kim1, Fig. 1E, item 1e-70, par. [0112], lines 1-10: In operation 1e-70, the UE 1e-05 may maintain MBS reception from the source cell 1e-10 up to a preset point of time. For example, the preset point of time may correspond to a point of time at which a handover to the target cell 1e-15 is regarded as successful (in other words, a point of time at which an RRCReconfigurationComplete message is regarded as being successfully transmitted to the target cell). That is, until the handover is completed, the UE 1e-05 may monitor a G-RNTI from the source BS 1e-10 and may monitor a C-RNTI from the target BS, and see Kim1, par. [0054]: The LTE MBMS refers to a technology for providing a broadcast service to UEs in a standby mode (radio resource control (RRC) IDLE) or a connected mode (RRC_CONNECTED), and see Kim1, par. [0142]: In operation 1i-10, the UE having switched to an idle mode or an inactive mode according to configuration information included in the Release message may maintain a particular MBS DRB and maintain MBS reception according to configuration, and see par. [0137]: The UE 1h-05 configured with the second indicator may maintain the MBS reception in an idle mode or an inactive mode; in this case, MBS communication may be maintained while in idle or inactive mode (i.e. RRC inactive)), wherein a same 5MBS session/content is provided by the at least one of the first base station and the second base station (see Kim1, Fig. 1H, item 1h-20, par. [0134], lines 1-7: In operation 1h-20, when the second indicator is configured, the UE 1h-05 may maintain a MBS DRB and receive MBS even after RRC connection release, with respect to ALL MBS DRBS or the MBS DRB corresponding thereto. Also, the RRCRelease message may include list information of a cell or a tracking area (TAs) on which the UE 1h-05 can maintain the MBS reception), wherein a reception of the shared MBS data transmission is maintained by the UE while in an RRC inactive state or an RRC idle state (see Kim1, Fig. 1E, item 1e-70, par. [0112], lines 1-10: In operation 1e-70, the UE 1e-05 may maintain MBS reception from the source cell 1e-10 up to a preset point of time. For example, the preset point of time may correspond to a point of time at which a handover to the target cell 1e-15 is regarded as successful (in other words, a point of time at which an RRCReconfigurationComplete message is regarded as being successfully transmitted to the target cell). That is, until the handover is completed, the UE 1e-05 may monitor a G-RNTI from the source BS 1e-10 and may monitor a C-RNTI from the target BS, and see Kim1, par. [0054]: The LTE MBMS refers to a technology for providing a broadcast service to UEs in a standby mode (radio resource control (RRC) IDLE) or a connected mode (RRC_CONNECTED), and see Kim1, par. [0142]: In operation 1i-10, the UE having switched to an idle mode or an inactive mode according to configuration information included in the Release message may maintain a particular MBS DRB and maintain MBS reception according to configuration, and see par. [0137]: The UE 1h-05 configured with the second indicator may maintain the MBS reception in an idle mode or an inactive mode; in this case, MBS communication may be maintained while in idle or inactive mode (i.e. RRC inactive));
wherein the UE is configured to receive the shared MBS data transmission via a multicast radio bearer (MRB) and/or a unicast data radio bearer (DRB) (see Kim1, Fig. 1E, item 1e-25, par. [0076], lines 1-2: In operation 1e-25, the UE 1e-05 having switched to the connected mode to receive the MBS may receive, from the source BS 1e-10, an RRCReconfiguration message including MBS configuration information. The RRCReconfiguration message may include configuration information about signaling radio bearer 2 (SRB2), data radio bearer (DRB), and MBS DRB. Here, the MBS DRB indicates a data radio bearer to deliver MBS data. The UE 1e-05 may need not only the MBS but also need a unicast service, and here, DRB configuration information may also be provided)
However, Kim1 does not teach:
transmitting, to at least one of a first base station and a second base station, an on-demand system information (SI) request;
wherein the S-5MBSN configuration information is via at least one on-demand SI response received from the at least one of the first base station and the second base station;
the same 5MBS session/content is scheduled by the first base station and the second base station independently without an inter-cell synchronization,
wherein the UE is configured to receive the shared MBS data transmission based on a prioritized 5MBS frequency of the UE.
Di Girolamo, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
transmitting, to at least one of a first base station and a second base station, an on-demand system information (SI) request (see Di Girolamo, par. [00197]: The second device in embodiment 15, which sends a radio bearer configuration request to the first device. The request based on one or more of the following: monitored HARQ failures for a transport block, radio conditions to the serving cell, location, and range to serving cell, PDCP status, RLC status, and see par. [00195]: A first device (e.g. gNB) that: determines the radio bearer configuration option to provide an MBS service to a second device (e.g. UE) that is interested in receiving the service; in this case, the UE sends a configuration request to a base station based on at least radio conditions, corresponding to transmitting an on-demand SI request);
wherein the S-5MBSN configuration information is via at least one on-demand SI response received from the at least one of the first base station and the second base station (see Di Girolamo, pars. [00195-00196]: A first device (e.g. gNB) that: determines the radio bearer configuration option to provide an MBS service to a second device (e.g. UE) that is interested in receiving the service, sends a first radio bearer configuration to the second device, reconfigures the radio bearer configuration for the MBS service to the second device, and sends a second radio bearer configuration to the second device. Embodiment 16: The first device in embodiment 15, where the determination is based on one or more of the following: a mapping of MBS service to radio bearer configuration option, a mapping of QoS attributes to radio bearer configuration option, the number of UEs interested in the service, the location of the UEs interested in receiving the service, the RRC state of the UE interested in receiving the service, the number of HARQ transmission failures to a UE, the received RLC status reports from the UE, the received PDCP status reports from the UE, the measurement reports from the UE, the CSI reports from the UE, a request from the UE; in this case, the configuration information received by the UE from a base station is determined based on a request from the UE (i.e. via an on-demand SI response));
the same 5MBS session/content is scheduled by the first base station and the second base station independently without an inter-cell synchronization (see Di Girolamo, Fig. 16, par. [00248]: FIG. 16 shows another example Control Plane protocol architecture 1600. In the example of FIG. 16, the control plane traffic to the UE 1603 is generated by gNB-CU 1601 and sent to the gNB-DUs 1602, 1603. For MC-PTM radio bearers, the gNB-CU 1601 may have a Multi-Cell layer (MC layer 1604) responsible for scheduling across the different gNB-DUs 1602, 1603, and see par. [00215]: Single Cell point-to-multipoint (SC-PTM): The MBMS service is provided through a PTM bearer over the RAN. There is a single shared SC-PTM bearer between a RAN node and each of the UEs receiving the MBS service in the cell. The delivery method may be used while the UE is in RRC CONNECTED state, RRC INACTIVE state, or RRC IDLE state, and see par. [00222]: SC-PTM xcast scheme: this is a special case of either non-SFN MC-PTM or SFN MC-PTM xcast scheme: the MBS content data packet is xcasted from one cell, and see par. [00107]: SC-PTM uses the same new logical entities in the core network (BM-SC, MBMS-GW) but does not rely on simultaneous transmission from multiple eNBs (as in the MBSFN case). Rather each eNB individually schedules its own MBMS transmissions; in this case, gNB-Dus 1602 and 1603 provide communication with the UE and do not synchronize with each other),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of Kim1 with the transmitting a request and being configured via a response and being scheduled of Di Girolamo with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of more flexible and dynamic radio resource allocation for MBMS transmissions (see Di Girolamo, par. [00107]).
However, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo does not teach:
wherein the UE is configured to receive the shared MBS data transmission based on a prioritized 5MBS frequency of the UE.
Shrivastava, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein the UE is configured to receive the shared MBS data transmission based on a prioritized 5MBS frequency of the UE (see Shrivastava, Figs. 7A-7B, par. [0050]: At step 718, the determination module 608 receives the one or more MBMS through one of legacy MBMS channel and a unicast channel from the serving cell 208 in response to transmitting the ROM service interest indication, and see par. [0047]: at step 706, the transmission module 610 adds a ROM service field in a MBMS interest indication message to identify at least one of the ROM service interest indication, and a list of carrier frequencies supporting the one or more MBMS service through the ROM session. At step 708, the transmission module 610 adds an identifier in the MBMS interest indication message to identify a presence of at least one of the ROM service field in the MBMS interest indication message and the list of carrier frequencies, and see par. [0124]: the mbms-FreqList field indicates a list of frequencies which provide a legacy MBMS service currently received or interested by the UE 102. The mbms-Priority field indicates whether reception of legacy MBMS reception is prioritized over unicast reception by the UE. In an implementation, a value of the mbms-Priority field is true, if the UE prioritises reception of all listed MBMS frequencies, excluding the MBMS frequencies in the ROM session, over reception of any of the unicast bearers).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the receiving shared MBS data transmission of the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo with the receiving based on a prioritized 5MBS frequency of Shrivastava with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of improved performance by better applying updated configurations (see Shrivastava, par. [0015]).
Regarding claim 22, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, teaches the method.
The combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo does not teach, but Shrivastava teaches:
wherein the prioritized 5MBS frequency of the UE is determined by UE interests based on the at least one on-demand SI response (see Shrivastava, pars. [0094-0097]: The UE shall: 1> consider a frequency to be part of the MBMS frequencies of interest if the following conditions are met: 2> if at least one MBMS session the UE is receiving or interested to receive via an MRB or SC-MRB is ongoing or about to start; and 2> for at least one of these MBMS sessions either SystemInformationBlockType15 acquired from the PCell includes for the concerned frequency one or more MBMS SAIs as indicated in the USD for this session; in this case, based on a response from the cell, frequencies of interest are determined).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo with the determining prioritized frequency of Shrivastava with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of improved performance by better applying updated configurations (see Shrivastava, par. [0015]).
Regarding claim 26, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, teaches the method.
Kim1 does not teach, but Di Girolamo teaches:
wherein after the UE is configured with the S-5MBSN configuration information, the UE is further configured with a group UE identifier for a group of UEs requiring the same 5MBS session/content before or upon the UE entering the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state (see Di Girolamo, par. [00326]: Each MCCH may have the MBS control information per G-RNTI. The MCCH may have a list of G-RNTI that are used for carrying a set of MBS services. For each of the G-RNTI, the MCCH includes an identifier for the service, the PDCP configuration(s), the RLC configuration(s), the MBS logical channel configuration(s), the MAC configuration(s) (including the DRX configuration), and the PHY configuration(s). As the G-RNTI may carry multiple MBS radio bearers, each for different MBS services, the configuration for each of these may be included, and see par. [00328]: UEs in RRC Connected receive the MBS control information through dedicated signaling over the DCCH logical channel. The network may know the services the UE has joined and is interested in. The gNB may signal the MBS control information for the services the UE is interested in using an existing RRC message (e.g., RRC Reconfiguration Request) or using a new RRC message (e.g., RRC MBS Reconfiguration Request). These messages may contain the RRC configuration for the MBS services that the UE is interested in. If the UE is in RRC Idle or RRC Inactive mode, the UE may be paged to transfer the MBS configuration. After receiving the configuration, the UE may remain in RRC Connected mode if at least one of the MBS services of interest is active. Alternatively, the UE may remain in RRC Connected mode even if no MBS service of interest is active. Alternatively, if no MBS service of interest is active, the UE may transition back to RRC Idle or RRC Inactive but maintain the MBS configuration; in this case, G-RNTI corresponds to a group UE identifier).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of Kim1 with the group identifier of Di Girolamo with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of more flexible and dynamic radio resource allocation for MBMS transmissions (see Di Girolamo, par. [00107]).
Regarding claims 27, 40, Kim1 teaches:
A wireless communication method for multicast and broadcast service (MBS) by a user equipment (UE) (see Kim1, Fig. 1D, par. [0071], lines 1-2: A flowchart of operations of a UE to be provided an MBS) or a user equipment (UE) (see Kim1, Fig. 1J, par. [0144]: FIG. 1J is a block diagram illustrating an internal structure of a UE), comprising:
a memory (see Kim1, Fig. 1J, par. [0145]: the UE may include a radio frequency (RF) processor 1j-10, a baseband processor 1j-20, a storage 1j-30, and a controller 1j-40);
a transceiver (see Kim1, Fig. 1J, par. [0145]: the UE may include a radio frequency (RF) processor 1j-10, a baseband processor 1j-20, a storage 1j-30, and a controller 1j-40); and
a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver (see Kim1, Fig. 1J, par. [0145]: the UE may include a radio frequency (RF) processor 1j-10, a baseband processor 1j-20, a storage 1j-30, and a controller 1j-40);
wherein the transceiver is configured (see Kim1, Fig. 1J, par. [0149]: The storage 1j-30 stores basic programs, application programs, and data, e.g., configuration information, for operations of the UE. In particular, the storage 1j-30 may store information about a second access node that performs wireless communication by using a second radio access technology. The storage 1j-30 provides the stored data, based on a request by the controller 1j-40) to:
receive a shared-5G multicast and broadcast service network (S-5MBSN) configuration information (see Kim1, Fig. 1E, item 1e-25, par. [0083], lines 1-8: In operation 1e-25, the UE 1e-05 having switched to the connected mode to receive the MBS may receive, from the source BS 1e-10, an RRCReconfiguration message including MBS configuration information. The RRCReconfiguration message may include configuration information about signaling radio bearer 2 (SRB2), data radio bearer (DRB), and MBS DRB. Here, the MBS DRB indicates a data radio bearer to deliver MBS data); and
continuously receiving, from the at least one of the first base station and the second base station, a shared MBS data transmission during a radio resource control (RRC) inactive or RRC idle UE mobility (see Kim1, Fig. 1E, item 1e-70, par. [0112], lines 1-10: In operation 1e-70, the UE 1e-05 may maintain MBS reception from the source cell 1e-10 up to a preset point of time. For example, the preset point of time may correspond to a point of time at which a handover to the target cell 1e-15 is regarded as successful (in other words, a point of time at which an RRCReconfigurationComplete message is regarded as being successfully transmitted to the target cell). That is, until the handover is completed, the UE 1e-05 may monitor a G-RNTI from the source BS 1e-10 and may monitor a C-RNTI from the target BS, and see Kim1, par. [0054]: The LTE MBMS refers to a technology for providing a broadcast service to UEs in a standby mode (radio resource control (RRC) IDLE) or a connected mode (RRC_CONNECTED), and see Kim1, par. [0142]: In operation 1i-10, the UE having switched to an idle mode or an inactive mode according to configuration information included in the Release message may maintain a particular MBS DRB and maintain MBS reception according to configuration, and see par. [0137]: The UE 1h-05 configured with the second indicator may maintain the MBS reception in an idle mode or an inactive mode; in this case, MBS communication may be maintained while in idle or inactive mode (i.e. RRC inactive)), wherein a same 5MBS session/content is provided by the at least one of the first base station and the second base station (see Kim1, Fig. 1H, item 1h-20, par. [0134], lines 1-7: In operation 1h-20, when the second indicator is configured, the UE 1h-05 may maintain a MBS DRB and receive MBS even after RRC connection release, with respect to ALL MBS DRBS or the MBS DRB corresponding thereto. Also, the RRCRelease message may include list information of a cell or a tracking area (TAs) on which the UE 1h-05 can maintain the MBS reception), wherein a reception of the shared MBS data transmission is maintained by the UE while in an RRC inactive state or an RRC idle state (see Kim1, Fig. 1E, item 1e-70, par. [0112], lines 1-10: In operation 1e-70, the UE 1e-05 may maintain MBS reception from the source cell 1e-10 up to a preset point of time. For example, the preset point of time may correspond to a point of time at which a handover to the target cell 1e-15 is regarded as successful (in other words, a point of time at which an RRCReconfigurationComplete message is regarded as being successfully transmitted to the target cell). That is, until the handover is completed, the UE 1e-05 may monitor a G-RNTI from the source BS 1e-10 and may monitor a C-RNTI from the target BS, and see Kim1, par. [0054]: The LTE MBMS refers to a technology for providing a broadcast service to UEs in a standby mode (radio resource control (RRC) IDLE) or a connected mode (RRC_CONNECTED), and see Kim1, par. [0142]: In operation 1i-10, the UE having switched to an idle mode or an inactive mode according to configuration information included in the Release message may maintain a particular MBS DRB and maintain MBS reception according to configuration, and see par. [0137]: The UE 1h-05 configured with the second indicator may maintain the MBS reception in an idle mode or an inactive mode; in this case, MBS communication may be maintained while in idle or inactive mode (i.e. RRC inactive));
However, Kim1 does not teach:
transmitting, to at least one of a first base station and a second base station, an on-demand system information (SI) request;
wherein the S-5MBSN configuration information is via at least one on-demand SI response received from the at least one of the first base station and the second base station;
and the same 5MBS session/content is scheduled by the first base station and the second base station independently without an inter-cell synchronization,
wherein the UE is configured to receive the shared MBS data transmission based on the at least one on-demand SI response.
Di Girolamo, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
transmitting, to at least one of a first base station and a second base station, an on-demand system information (SI) request (see Di Girolamo, par. [00197]: The second device in embodiment 15, which sends a radio bearer configuration request to the first device. The request based on one or more of the following: monitored HARQ failures for a transport block, radio conditions to the serving cell, location, and range to serving cell, PDCP status, RLC status, and see par. [00195]: A first device (e.g. gNB) that: determines the radio bearer configuration option to provide an MBS service to a second device (e.g. UE) that is interested in receiving the service; in this case, the UE sends a configuration request to a base station based on at least radio conditions, corresponding to transmitting an on-demand SI request);
wherein the S-5MBSN configuration information is via at least one on-demand SI response received from the at least one of the first base station and the second base station (see Di Girolamo, pars. [00195-00196]: A first device (e.g. gNB) that: determines the radio bearer configuration option to provide an MBS service to a second device (e.g. UE) that is interested in receiving the service, sends a first radio bearer configuration to the second device, reconfigures the radio bearer configuration for the MBS service to the second device, and sends a second radio bearer configuration to the second device. Embodiment 16: The first device in embodiment 15, where the determination is based on one or more of the following: a mapping of MBS service to radio bearer configuration option, a mapping of QoS attributes to radio bearer configuration option, the number of UEs interested in the service, the location of the UEs interested in receiving the service, the RRC state of the UE interested in receiving the service, the number of HARQ transmission failures to a UE, the received RLC status reports from the UE, the received PDCP status reports from the UE, the measurement reports from the UE, the CSI reports from the UE, a request from the UE; in this case, the configuration information received by the UE from a base station is determined based on a request from the UE (i.e. via an on-demand SI response));
and the same 5MBS session/content is scheduled by the first base station and the second base station independently without an inter-cell synchronization (see Di Girolamo, Fig. 16, par. [00248]: FIG. 16 shows another example Control Plane protocol architecture 1600. In the example of FIG. 16, the control plane traffic to the UE 1603 is generated by gNB-CU 1601 and sent to the gNB-DUs 1602, 1603. For MC-PTM radio bearers, the gNB-CU 1601 may have a Multi-Cell layer (MC layer 1604) responsible for scheduling across the different gNB-DUs 1602, 1603, and see par. [00215]: Single Cell point-to-multipoint (SC-PTM): The MBMS service is provided through a PTM bearer over the RAN. There is a single shared SC-PTM bearer between a RAN node and each of the UEs receiving the MBS service in the cell. The delivery method may be used while the UE is in RRC CONNECTED state, RRC INACTIVE state, or RRC IDLE state, and see par. [00222]: SC-PTM xcast scheme: this is a special case of either non-SFN MC-PTM or SFN MC-PTM xcast scheme: the MBS content data packet is xcasted from one cell, and see par. [00107]: SC-PTM uses the same new logical entities in the core network (BM-SC, MBMS-GW) but does not rely on simultaneous transmission from multiple eNBs (as in the MBSFN case). Rather each eNB individually schedules its own MBMS transmissions; in this case, gNB-Dus 1602 and 1603 provide communication with the UE and do not synchronize with each other),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of Kim1 with the transmitting a request and being configured via a response and being scheduled of Di Girolamo with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of more flexible and dynamic radio resource allocation for MBMS transmissions (see Di Girolamo, par. [00107]).
However, the combination of Kim1 in view of DI Girolamo does not teach:
wherein the UE is configured to receive the shared MBS data transmission based on the at least one on-demand SI response.
Shrivastava, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein the UE is configured to receive the shared MBS data transmission based on the at least one on-demand SI response (see Shrivastava, pars. [0094-0097]: The UE shall: 1> consider a frequency to be part of the MBMS frequencies of interest if the following conditions are met: 2> if at least one MBMS session the UE is receiving or interested to receive via an MRB or SC-MRB is ongoing or about to start; and 2> for at least one of these MBMS sessions either SystemInformationBlockType15 acquired from the PCell includes for the concerned frequency one or more MBMS SAIs as indicated in the USD for this session, and see Figs. 7A-7B, par. [0050]: At step 718, the determination module 608 receives the one or more MBMS through one of legacy MBMS channel and a unicast channel from the serving cell 208 in response to transmitting the ROM service interest indication, and see par. [0047]: at step 706, the transmission module 610 adds a ROM service field in a MBMS interest indication message to identify at least one of the ROM service interest indication, and a list of carrier frequencies supporting the one or more MBMS service through the ROM session. At step 708, the transmission module 610 adds an identifier in the MBMS interest indication message to identify a presence of at least one of the ROM service field in the MBMS interest indication message and the list of carrier frequencies, and see par. [0124]: the mbms-FreqList field indicates a list of frequencies which provide a legacy MBMS service currently received or interested by the UE 102. The mbms-Priority field indicates whether reception of legacy MBMS reception is prioritized over unicast reception by the UE. In an implementation, a value of the mbms-Priority field is true, if the UE prioritises reception of all listed MBMS frequencies, excluding the MBMS frequencies in the ROM session, over reception of any of the unicast bearers; in this case, based on a response from the cell, frequencies of interest are determined. The frequencies are used to configure the UE for MBMS communication).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the receiving shared MBS data transmission of the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo with the receiving based on a SI response of Shrivastava with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of improved performance by better applying updated configurations (see Shrivastava, par. [0015]).
Regarding claim 28, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, teaches the method.
Kim1 does not teach, but Di Girolamo teaches:
wherein the at least one on-demand SI response comprises a second SIB including a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for MBS transmission (see Di Girolamo, par. [00184]: The first device of embodiment 4, where the MAC configuration may include the DRX configuration and the HARQ configuration of the MBS services, and see par. [00124]: For SC-PTM, scheduling information for each service (i.e. , each SC-MTCH) is provided in the system information. The UE attempts to receive SC-MTCH continuously or according to the discontinuous reception configuration).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of Kim1 with the DRX configuration of Di Girolamo with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of more flexible and dynamic radio resource allocation for MBMS transmissions (see Di Girolamo, par. [00107]).
The combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo does not teach, but Shrivastava teaches:
wherein the at least one on-demand SI response comprises a system information block (SIB) including a frequency (see Shrivastava, Fig. 3, par. [0034]: At 302, the cell 208 sends a system information message, for e.g., SIB15 message, to the UE 102 indicating a list of neighboring frequencies and a list of current frequencies, where each frequency in the list includes a list of MBMS service area identities (SAIs) supported by a respective frequency)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the SI response of the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo with a SIB including a frequency of Shrivastava with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of improved performance by better applying updated configurations (see Shrivastava, par. [0015]).
Regarding claim 29, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, teaches the method.
Kim1 does not teach, but Di Girolamo teaches:
wherein the at least one on-demand SI response comprises information related to a service continuity for MBS transmission (see Di Girolamo, Fig. 25, par. [00332]: At step 2510, a determination is made of the radio bearer types that may be required for an MBS QoS flow and the configuration of these flows at the UEs. For example, the initial mapping of the MBS QoS flows may be made. UE assistance may be provided to help the RAN node make this determination, and see par. [00335]: UE assistance information is described herein. The following assistance information may be provided by the UE, to help the RAN node determine the RAN delivery method:, and see par. [00341]: UE Mobility State: The UE may provide an indication of its mobility state: stationary, low mobility, high mobility. The RAN node may use this information to select a RAN delivery method that would be better suited for the mobility state. For example, if a UE requires an MBS service with strict service continuity, the RAN node may favor a SC-PTP bearer type).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of Kim1 with the SI response with information relating to service continuity of Di Girolamo with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of more flexible and dynamic radio resource allocation for MBMS transmissions (see Di Girolamo, par. [00107]).
Regarding claim 30, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, teaches the method.
Kim1 does not teach, but Di Girolamo teaches:
wherein the at least one on-demand SI response comprises an identifier of the shared MBS data transmission (see Di Girolamo, par. [00326]: Each MCCH may have the MBS control information per G-RNTI. The MCCH may have a list of G-RNTI that are used for carrying a set of MBS services. For each of the G-RNTI, the MCCH includes an identifier for the service, the PDCP configuration(s), the RLC configuration(s), the MBS logical channel configuration(s), the MAC configuration(s) (including the DRX configuration), and the PHY configuration(s). As the G-RNTI may carry multiple MBS radio bearers, each for different MBS services, the configuration for each of these may be included, and see par. [00328]: UEs in RRC Connected receive the MBS control information through dedicated signaling over the DCCH logical channel. The network may know the services the UE has joined and is interested in. The gNB may signal the MBS control information for the services the UE is interested in using an existing RRC message (e.g., RRC Reconfiguration Request) or using a new RRC message (e.g., RRC MBS Reconfiguration Request). These messages may contain the RRC configuration for the MBS services that the UE is interested in. If the UE is in RRC Idle or RRC Inactive mode, the UE may be paged to transfer the MBS configuration. After receiving the configuration, the UE may remain in RRC Connected mode if at least one of the MBS services of interest is active. Alternatively, the UE may remain in RRC Connected mode even if no MBS service of interest is active. Alternatively, if no MBS service of interest is active, the UE may transition back to RRC Idle or RRC Inactive but maintain the MBS configuration; in this case, G-RNTI corresponds to an identifier)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of Kim1 with the identifier of Di Girolamo with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of more flexible and dynamic radio resource allocation for MBMS transmissions (see Di Girolamo, par. [00107]).
The combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo does not teach, but Shrivastava teaches:
wherein the at least one on-demand SI response comprises a frequency of the shared MBS data transmission (see Shrivastava, Fig. 3, par. [0034]: At 302, the cell 208 sends a system information message, for e.g., SIB15 message, to the UE 102 indicating a list of neighboring frequencies and a list of current frequencies, where each frequency in the list includes a list of MBMS service area identities (SAIs) supported by a respective frequency).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the SI response of the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo with a frequency of Shrivastava with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of improved performance by better applying updated configurations (see Shrivastava, par. [0015]).
Regarding claim 31, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, teaches the method.
The combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo does not teach, but Shrivastava teaches:
wherein the frequency of the shared MBS data transmission comprises a transmitted frequency of at least one of the first base station and the second base station and a UE interested frequency (see Shrivastava, Fig. 3, par. [0034]: the UE 102 in a connected mode (for e.g., in RRC connected state) may send an MBMS interest indication message to serving cell(s) to indicate a list of frequencies of interest to the UE 102. The UE may determine frequency of interest from a system information message, for e.g., system information block (SIB) 15 message, received from the serving cell(s). Accordingly, FIG. 3 illustrates an example diagram of use of an MBMS interest indication message. The example diagram illustrates communication between the UE 102 and the cell 208. At 302, the cell 208 sends a system information message, for e.g., SIB15 message, to the UE 102 indicating a list of neighboring frequencies and a list of current frequencies, where each frequency in the list includes a list of MBMS service area identities (SAIs) supported by a respective frequency).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the SI response of the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo with the frequency of Shrivastava with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of improved performance by better applying updated configurations (see Shrivastava, par. [0015]).
Regarding claim 32, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, teaches the method.
Kim1 does not teach, but Di Girolamo teaches:
wherein the at least one on-demand SI response carries a sequence number for MBS transmission (see Di Girolamo, par. [00195]: A first device (e.g. gNB) that: determines the radio bearer configuration option to provide an MBS service to a second device (e.g. UE) that is interested in receiving the service, sends a first radio bearer configuration to the second device, reconfigures the radio bearer configuration for the MBS service to the second device, and sends a second radio bearer configuration to the second device, and see par. [00199]: The second device in embodiment 15, where the second radio bearer configuration includes the last PDCP SN the second device should monitor over the first radio bearer configuration).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of Kim1 with the sequence number of Di Girolamo with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of more flexible and dynamic radio resource allocation for MBMS transmissions (see Di Girolamo, par. [00107]).
Regarding claim 33, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, teaches the method.
Kim1 does not teach, but Di Girolamo teaches:
wherein a threshold of the S-5MBSN configuration information is configured in an initial radio access phase and is associated with a 5MBS QoS requirement and/or channel quality (see Di Girolamo, pars. [00377-00381]: The radio bearer configuration option may be tied to the QoS attributes of an MBS services. The gNB may have a mapping of QoS attribute to radio bearer configuration type, or MBS service type to radio bearer configuration type. For example, an MBS service with a very high reliability requirement, may use MRB with single radio bearer using RLC- AM. The QoS attribute may be one or more of priority, reliability, latency, 5QI (5G QoS Identifier), resource type (GBR vs non-GBR). The radio bearer configuration option may be tied to the number of UEs interested in the service. The gNB may obtain this information from the core network, for example based on the number of UEs that have joined the MBS service. So, if this number is above a certain threshold, the gNB selects a radio bearer configuration that has a PTM leg. The radio bearer configuration option may be tied to the location of the interested UEs. If UE is very far away, the gNB may decide to use a radio bearer configuration that has a PTP leg. The radio bearer configuration option may be tied to the RRC state of a UE. If a UE is in RRC Idle or RRC Connected, the UE may use a radio bearer configuration that has a PTM leg and has no HARQ feedback configured. The radio bearer configuration option may be linked to the number of HARQ transmission failures for a UE. If the number of HARQ failures for a UE crosses a threshold, the gNB may change the radio bearer configuration, and see pars. [00405-00406]: The path may be tied to the QoS attributes of an MBS services. The gNB may have a mapping of QoS attribute to path, or MBS service type to path. For example, an MBS service with a low reliability requirement, may initially use a PTM leg/path. The QoS attribute may be one or more of priority, reliability, latency, 5QI (5G QoS Identifier), resource type (GBR vs non-GBR). The path may be tied to the number of UEs interested in the service. The gNB may obtain this information from the core network, for example based on the number of UEs that have joined the MBS service. So, if this number is above a certain threshold, the gNB selects a PTM leg/path).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of Kim1 with the threshold of Di Girolamo with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of more flexible and dynamic radio resource allocation for MBMS transmissions (see Di Girolamo, par. [00107]).
Regarding claim 35, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, teaches the method.
Kim1 does not teach, but Di Girolamo teaches:
wherein the at least one on-demand SI response carrying the S-5MBSN configuration information is delivered via unicast or broadcast based on a number of interested UEs (see Di Girolamo, par. [00378]: The radio bearer configuration option may be tied to the number of UEs interested in the service. The gNB may obtain this information from the core network, for example based on the number of UEs that have joined the MBS service. So, if this number is above a certain threshold, the gNB selects a radio bearer configuration that has a PTM leg).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of Kim1 with the unicast or broadcast based on number of UEs interested of Di Girolamo with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of more flexible and dynamic radio resource allocation for MBMS transmissions (see Di Girolamo, par. [00107]).
Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, as applied to claims 1, 22, 26-33, 35, and 40 above, and further in view of Won et al. (US 2018/0248708), hereinafter “Won”.
Regarding claim 23, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, teaches the method.
However, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, does not teach:
wherein the UE is configured to receive the shared MBS data transmission based on MBS quality of service (QoS) requirements that are independently determined by the first base station and the second base station.
Won, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein the UE is configured to receive the shared MBS data transmission based on MBS quality of service (QoS) requirements that are independently determined by the first base station and the second base station (see Won, par. [0197]: the eNB according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a communication unit 620 and a control unit 610. The control unit 610 controls the eNB to perform the operation of one of the above-described embodiments. For example, the control unit 610 may control the eNB to receive MBMS bearer information including a QoS parameter from an MCE, update the bearer information for the UE using the MBMS bearer information, determine handover of the UE, transmit a handover request message including MBMS bearer information to the MME or the second eNB which does not supporting MBMS, transmit a handover command message to the UE, and forwards the MBMS data to the second eNB during a predetermined period, and see par. [0045]: The LTE 130 is a network of a plurality of eNBs connected complicatedly. The eNBs 110 are connected to each other through X2 interface 113. Each eNB 110 serves the UE within its service area which is called coverage. Since the coverage is restricted, the UE 100 has to establish a radio connection with an appropriated eNB 110 through the Uu interface 105 on the move).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, with the UE configuration based on independently determined QoS requirements of Won with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of seamless group communication (see Won, par. [0028]).
Claim 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, as applied to claims 1, 22, 26-33, 35, and 40 above, and further in view of Zhang et al. (WO 2022/077444), hereinafter “Zhang”, and further in view of Matolia et al. (US 2021/0352443), hereinafter “Matolia”.
Regarding claim 24, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, teaches the method.
However, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, does not teach:
wherein a point-to-multipoint (PTM) transmission is delivered by the MRB, a point-to-point (PTP) transmission is delivered by the DRB, and at least one of the PTM transmission and the PTP transmission is determined based on 5MBS QoS requirements.
Zhang, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein a point-to-multipoint (PTM) transmission is delivered by the MRB, a point-to-point (PTP) transmission is delivered by the DRB (see Zhang, par. [0007], lines 1-2: The RAN node (e.g., gNB) may use PTM, PTP or a combination of PTP/PTM mode to deliver the MBS data of a particular MBS to the interested UEs within a cell, and see Zhang, par. [0104], lines 1-4: It RBs of the MBS corresponding to the PTP mode and the PTM mode have been configured, that is, DRB and MRB have been configured or established previously, the base station may transmit and the UE may receive a message to instruct the UE to do one or more operations (activation/deactivation) for switching from the initial delivery mode to the target delivery mode for delivering the MBS data packets),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, with the PTM transmission delivered by MRB and PTP transmission delivered by PTP of Zhang with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of improving utilization of network and spectrum resources (see Zhang, par. [0018], lines 1-3).
However, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, and further in view of Zhang, does not teach:
and at least one of the PTM transmission and the PTP transmission is determined based on 5MBS QoS requirements.
Matolia, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
and at least one of the PTM transmission and the PTP transmission is determined based on 5MBS QoS requirements (see Matolia, par. [0095], lines 1-3: FIG. 7 shows a method 700 for multicast to unicast handover based on QoS according to various exemplary embodiments, and see Matolia, par. [0099], lines 1-6: In 725, the UE 110 determines whether the QoS parameters satisfy the QoS thresholds. If the QoS parameters do not fall below the QoS thresholds, the method 700 returns to 720 where the UE 110 continues to monitor the QoS Parameters. If the QoS parameters fall below the QoS thresholds, the method 700 continues to 730, and see Matolia, par. [0100], lines 1-2: In 730, the UE 110 switches to a unicast PDU session, and see Matolia, par. [0023]: The exemplary embodiments include various MBS session management techniques performed at the UE).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the simultaneous transmission of PTM and PTP bearers of the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, and further in view of Zhang, with the selection of individual PTM and PTP based on quality of service parameters of Matolia with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of enforcing quality of service throughout the network (see Matolia, par. [0049], lines 1-10).
Claim 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, as applied to claims 1, 22, 26-33, 35, and 40 above, and further in view of Zhang.
Regarding claim 25, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, teaches the method.
However, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, does not teach:
wherein a PTM transmission is delivered by the MRB, a PTP transmission is delivered by the DRB, and at least one of the PTM transmission and the PTP transmission is determined based on a number of interested UEs.
Zhang, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein a point-to-multipoint (PTM) transmission is delivered by the MRB, a point-to-point (PTP) transmission is delivered by the DRB (see Zhang, par. [0007], lines 1-2: The RAN node (e.g., gNB) may use PTM, PTP or a combination of PTP/PTM mode to deliver the MBS data of a particular MBS to the interested UEs within a cell, and see Zhang, par. [0104], lines 1-4: It RBs of the MBS corresponding to the PTP mode and the PTM mode have been configured, that is, DRB and MRB have been configured or established previously, the base station may transmit and the UE may receive a message to instruct the UE to do one or more operations (activation/deactivation) for switching from the initial delivery mode to the target delivery mode for delivering the MBS data packets), and at least one of the PTM transmission and the PTP transmission is determined based on a number of interested UEs (see Zhang, par. [0143]: FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a mode switch from PTP mode to PTM mode based on DCI. As illustrated in FIG. 10, if both MRB and DRM configurations have been stored, and if gNB decides PTP mode as the delivery mode to deliver MBS data packets, the gNB may instruct the UE to do related operations by DCI with C-RNTI such that the UE knows whether the instruction is for it. If the gNB decides to switch from the PTP mode to PTM mode, the gNB may again transmit DCI to the UE to instruct the UE to perform the mode switch. The DCI copes with a G-RNTI to identify which group of UEs is to be applied, and thus the UE knows whether it belongs to the group, and see Zhang, par. [0007], lines 1-2: The RAN node (e.g., gNB) may use PTM, PTP or a combination of PTP/PTM mode to deliver the MBS data of a particular MBS to the interested UEs within a cell).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, with the PTM transmission delivered by MRB and PTP transmission delivered by PTP of Zhang with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of improving utilization of network and spectrum resources (see Zhang, par. [0018], lines 1-3).
Claim 34 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, as applied to claims 1, 22, 26-33, 35, and 40 above, and further in view of Mohammed Mikaeil et al. (WO 2022/077341), hereinafter “Mohammed”.
Regarding claim 34, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, teaches the method.
However, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, does not teach:
wherein the on-demand system information request is a preamble required by a UE that is interested in receiving the shared MBS data transmission.
Mohammed, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein the on-demand system information request is a preamble required by a UE that is interested in receiving the shared MBS data transmission (see Mohammed, Fig. 7, par. [0186]: FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 illustrate that, in some embodiments, in this method, a UE may indicate its MBS service interest (i.e., the identity (ID) or the type of the MBS service or the QoS requirement of the MBS service) to the source gNB as part of a HANDOVER MEASUREMENT report. In return, the source gNB may decide a handover based on the part of a HANDOVER MEASUREMENT report and may select the type of handover to be performed/configured for the given UE MBS radio bearer (MRB/DRB)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the SI request of the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, with the request being a preamble required by a UE that is interested in receiving MBS of Mohammed with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of minimizing UE signaling complexity (see Mohammed, par. [0231]).
Claims 36-38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, as applied to claims 1, 22, 26-33, 35, and 40 above, and further in view of Koskinen et al. (US 2016/0241413), hereinafter “Koskinen”.
Regarding claim 36, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, teaches the method.
However, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, does not teach:
wherein the RRC inactive or RRC idle UE mobility comprises a tracking area update (TAU) which is performed by a group of UEs via a PTP radio bearer or a PTM radio bearer.
Koskinen, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein the RRC inactive or RRC idle UE mobility comprises a tracking area update (TAU) which is performed by a group of UEs via a PTP radio bearer or a PTM radio bearer (see Koskinen, par. [0065]: Although features are described herein as being used with a UE, features may be used with a SC-PTM group informing about the cell re-selection. The UE may indicate, with a signaling message about the re-selection to a new cell, that the UE in idle mode and shall establish RRC connection in order to transfer the information. The information may be sent during the connection establishment procedure (on RRC layer) with additional information element, or there could be a new signaling (procedure) and/or message specified for the indication followed by the establishment procedure. Re-selection may be indicated in idle mode after/during ATTACH or Tracking Area Update (TAU) procedures, or after any cell selection/reselection within a tracking area, change of carrier, and see par. [0040]: An example network architecture is illustrated in FIG. 1. This MBMS architecture may be used for Single Cell point-to-multipoint (SC-PTM) transmission. Single cell point-to-multipoint (SC-PTM) transmission mode is a feature intended to provide means for multicasting service data to a formed group of User Equipment (UE) on a per cell basis).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, with the tracking area update of Koskinen with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of improved service continuity (see Koskinen, par. [0069]).
Regarding claim 37, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, teaches the method.
However, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, does not teach:
wherein during the RRC inactive or RRC idle UE mobility, when a 5MBS service continuity UE TAU condition is met, the UE transmits an indication for service continuity, and the 5MBS service continuity UE TAU condition is associated with a detection of a boundary of at least one of the first base station, the second base station, and a S-5MBSN.
Koskinen, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein during the RRC inactive or RRC idle UE mobility, when a 5MBS service continuity UE TAU condition is met, the UE transmits an indication for service continuity, and the 5MBS service continuity UE TAU condition is associated with a detection of a boundary of at least one of the first base station, the second base station, and a S-5MBSN (see Koskinen, Fig. 3, par. [0065]: The UE may indicate, with a signaling message about the re-selection to a new cell, that the UE in idle mode and shall establish RRC connection in order to transfer the information. The information may be sent during the connection establishment procedure (on RRC layer) with additional information element, or there could be a new signaling (procedure) and/or message specified for the indication followed by the establishment procedure. Re-selection may be indicated in idle mode after/during ATTACH or Tracking Area Update (TAU) procedures, or after any cell selection/reselection within a tracking area, change of carrier, etc, and see par. [0068]: the UE may send signaling under applied rules or conditions, and the rules and conditions may have multiple inputs which affects when and how signaling is to be sent, and see par. [0068]: The “rule” or “condition” in case of SC-PTM or MBMS may be the intention to receive multicast service in a re-selected cell, actively receiving the multicast service, UE moving to a cell which is not sending a service UE is intending to receive or actively receiving, UE stopping active reception of one or more multicast services in the serving cell, or the like; in this case, the UE transmits a service continuity indication based on a condition of moving cells (i.e. a condition associated with a detection of a boundary)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, with the conditional service continuity indication of Koskinen with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of improved service continuity (see Koskinen, par. [0069]).
Regarding claim 38, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, and further in view of Koskinen, teaches the method.
The combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, does not teach, but Koskinen teaches:
wherein the 5MBS service continuity UE TAU condition is associated with a mobility restriction when an MBS transmission is applicable to a private network (see Koskinen, par. [0068]: The “rule” or “condition” in case of SC-PTM or MBMS may be the intention to receive multicast service in a re-selected cell, actively receiving the multicast service, UE moving to a cell which is not sending a service UE is intending to receive or actively receiving, UE stopping active reception of one or more multicast services in the serving cell, or the like. The signaling may also be “conditioned” based on the UE capabilities to receive only either one of the SC-PTM or MBMS service, support of reception on the band or frequency transmitting SC-PTM or MBMS, UE being either in RRC connected or RRC idle, and see Fig. 5, par. [0070]: in the wireless system 230 a wireless network 235 is adapted for communication over a wireless link 232 with an apparatus, such as a mobile communication device which may be referred to as a UE 10, via a network access node, such as a Node B (base station), and more specifically an eNB 13. The network 235 may include a network control element (NCE) 240 that may include MME/S-GW functionality, and which provides connectivity with a network, such as a telephone network and/or a data communications network (e.g., the internet 238)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, with the service continuity condition of Koskinen with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of improved service continuity (see Koskinen, par. [0069]).
Claim 39 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, as applied to claims 1, 22, 26-33, 35, and 40 above, and further in view of Koskinen, and further in view of Mohammed.
Regarding claim 39, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, teaches the method.
However, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, does not teach:
wherein during the RRC inactive or RRC idle UE mobility, when the UE detects a boundary of a cell coverage based on an identifier of the shared MBS data transmission, the UE transmits the on-demand SI request to the second base station.
Koskinen, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein during the RRC inactive or RRC idle UE mobility, when the UE detects a boundary of a cell coverage based on an identifier of the shared MBS data transmission, the UE transmits the on-demand SI request (see Koskinen, pars. [0045-0054]: The UE providing terminal/feature specific signaling information to the network. The signaling could be triggered by the UE such as, for example, based on the following: Autonomously according to pre-defined (specified) rules. If configured by the network (dynamic or semi-dynamic manner i.e. with signaling or pre-provision). The configuration could be UE type or supported feature specific. With procedure per UE type. When the location of the UE changes. Granularity of the location could be, for example, cell/(e)NodeB/TA/RA/LA/PLMN/carrier/frequency. When requested by the network. Optionally the network would request certain UE type(s) to report signaling. Regardless of the UE state (idle/connected). Any combination of above. The signaling message may include further information such as, for example, UE type, identification, Cell ID/carrier/PLMN/RAT, Service ID/TMGI/group indication)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, with the transmitting based on detecting a boundary of Koskinen with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of improved service continuity (see Koskinen, par. [0069]).
However, the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, and further in view of Koskinen, does not teach:
the UE transmits the on-demand SI request to the second base station.
Mohammed, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
the UE transmits the on-demand SI request to the second base station (see Mohammed, Fig. 2, par. [0136]: a handover method 200 for a multicast/broadcast service (MBS) performed by a user equipment (UE) in a communication network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the handover method 200 includes: a block 202, determining, by the UE, an MBS service and/or a Quality-of-Service (QoS) related information as a part of a handover measurement report, and a block 204, exchanging the MBS service and/or the QoS related information as the part of the handover measurement report between at least two of the UE, a source base station, and a target base station, wherein a handover to be performed and/or configured for UE MBS mobility is made based on the part of the handover measurement report).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the SI request of the combination of Kim1 in view of Di Girolamo, and further in view of Shrivastava, and further in view of Koskinen, with the request being transmitted to the second base station of Mohammed with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of minimizing UE signaling complexity (see Mohammed, par. [0231]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Babaei (US 2023/0370905) teaches a system, method, and apparatus for maintaining multicast broadcast service continuity in idle and inactive states.
Narayanan Thangaraj et al. (US 2023/0029998) teaches methods, apparatus, and systems for receiving a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast System (MBMS) service performed by a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU).
Zhu et al. (US 2023/0188948) teaches techniques to obtain and manage the priority information that indicates priorities of the multicast and broadcast services (MBS).
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 CALEB J BALLOWE whose telephone number is (571)270-0410. The examiner can normally be reached MON-FRI 7:30-5.
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/C.J.B./Examiner, Art Unit 2419
/Nishant Divecha/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2419
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