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 .
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper content of an abstract of the disclosure.
A patent abstract is a concise statement of the technical disclosure of the patent and should include that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains. The abstract should not refer to purported merits or speculative applications of the invention and should not compare the invention with the prior art.
If the patent is of a basic nature, the entire technical disclosure may be new in the art, and the abstract should be directed to the entire disclosure. If the patent is in the nature of an improvement in an old apparatus, process, product, or composition, the abstract should include the technical disclosure of the improvement. The abstract should also mention by way of example any preferred modifications or alternatives.
Where applicable, the abstract should include the following: (1) if a machine or apparatus, its organization and operation; (2) if an article, its method of making; (3) if a chemical compound, its identity and use; (4) if a mixture, its ingredients; (5) if a process, the steps.
Extensive mechanical and design details of an apparatus should not be included in the abstract. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph within the range of 50 to 150 words in length.
See MPEP § 608.01(b) for guidelines for the preparation of patent abstracts.
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 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 3, 6, 9, 11, 16, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FUJISHIRO; Masato et al US 20250261282 A1, hereinafter FUJISHIRO, in view of LIU, Xiaofei et al WO2024152275 A1 priority 01-18-2023, hereinafter LIU. As WO2024152275 is in a foreign language, corresponding English version document EP 4654726 A1 is used here.
Regarding claims 1 and 16, FUJISHIRO teaches, a baseband processor (see FUJISHIRO Fig. 2; [30] for baseband processor) comprising: processing circuitry to:
determine an MCCH configuration for an MCCH for an apparatus based on the MCCH configuration information; implement the MCCH configuration for the MCCH (These limitations are interpreted, in line with the Spec, as receiving by UE (=device) MCCH configuration from the base station, and UE using MCCH as configured to receive information sent over the MCCH. FUJISHIRO [51] “Parameters necessary for reception of the MCCH (MCCH configuration) are provided through system information. More specifically, system information block/type 20 (SIB 20) includes the MCCH configuration.”, [63] “Note that the UE 100 receives the SIB 20 prior to the reception of the MCCH, and receives the MCCH based on the SIB 20. Note that the MCCH transmission (and reception) may be performed before step S11 or may be performed simultaneously with step S11.”, teaches determining MCCH configuration from SIB 20 for receiving MCCH);
identify a multicast point-to-multipoint (PTM) configuration for an inactive state of the apparatus received via the MCCH configured with the MCCH configuration (This limitation is interpreted as receiving a PTM configuration over the configured MCCH channel. FUJISHIRO [52] “Such a PTM configuration is also referred to as a Multicast Radio Bearer (MRB) configuration, an MTCH configuration, or a multicast configuration.”, [0062] “In step S12, the UE 100 transitions to the RRC inactive (INACTIVE) state in response to reception of the RRC Release message in step S11”, [63] “In step S13, the gNB 200 transmits the MCCH including the MBS configuration (multicast configuration) relating to the multicast sessions. The UE 100 receives the MCCH.”, [0167] “The following general description provides a baseline for PTM Configuration distribution Option 2. [0168] (2-a) The PTM configuration (i.e., the configuration used for multicast reception in the RRC inactive state) is provided via a channel such as an MCCH (that is the same as or different from that used for MBS broadcast), and the information relating to MCCH scheduling is provided via an SIB or dedicated signaling (which needs to be further studied). [0169] (2-b) The UE can receive such a configuration when the UE is in the RRC inactive state. Whether the UE is also permitted or needs to receive the configuration in the RRC connected state needs to be further studied. [0170] (2-c) If part or entirety of the received configuration needs to be updated, the UE does not need to resume RRC connection, yet is notified of such a change (e.g. via MCCH DCI) and acquires the updated configuration via the MCCH.”, teaches receiving PTM configuration via the MCCH for an inactive state for receiving multicast data); and
implement the multicast PTM configuration for the inactive state (FUJISHIRO [0064] “In step S14, the UE 100 in the RRC inactive state receives the multicast data on the MTCH via the multicast sessions based on the multicast configuration received on the MCCH in step S13. This enables the UE 100 in the RRC inactive state to perform multicast reception.”, teaches receiving the multicast data based on the PTM configuration, therefore, implies implementing the multicast PTM configuration); and
interface circuitry coupled with the processing circuitry, the interface circuitry to communicatively couple the processing circuitry with a component of the apparatus (see FUJISHIRO Fig. 2; [28]-[29]).
FUJISHIRO does not expressly teach, however, in the same field of endeavor, LIU teaches, identify a transmission that includes multicast/broadcast services control channel (MCCH) configuration information received via user equipment (UE) dedicated signaling;
(LIU [37] “In an embodiment, the network device may send the dedicated signaling, and the dedicated signaling carries the configuration information of the MCCH, such as a resource configuration for receiving the MCCH”, [38] “Since the network device may send the dedicated signaling to the terminal only after establishing a connection with the terminal, the terminal needs to be in the connected state to receive the dedicated signaling and obtain the configuration information of the MCCH from the dedicated signaling.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of FUJISHIRO to include the features as taught by LIU above in order to receive the multicast service in non-connected state (LIU [0002]).
With respect to claim 1, claim recites the identical features of claim 16 for a corresponding non-transitory, computer-readable media. Therefore, it is subjected to the same rejection.
Regarding claim 9, FUJISHIRO teaches, A method comprising:
transmitting, to a device, a request for the device to transition to a connected mode (FUJISHIRO [0045] “RRC signaling for various configurations is transmitted between the RRC layer of the UE 100 and the RRC layer of the gNB 200. The RRC layer controls a logical channel, a transport channel, and a physical channel according to establishment, re-establishment, and release of a radio bearer. When connection (RRC connection) is established between RRC of the UE 100 and RRC of the gNB 200, the UE 100 is in an RRC connected state.”, teaches an RRC connected state is achieved via transmitting RRC signaling);
generating a transmission that provides multicast/broadcast services control channel (MCCH) configuration information; transmitting, (These limitations are interpreted, in line with the Spec, as transmitting to UE (=device) MCCH configuration from the base station for the UE to receive information sent over the MCCH. Generating the configuration is inherent, FUJISHIRO [51] “Parameters necessary for reception of the MCCH (MCCH configuration) are provided through system information. More specifically, system information block/type 20 (SIB 20) includes the MCCH configuration.”, [63] “Note that the UE 100 receives the SIB 20 prior to the reception of the MCCH, and receives the MCCH based on the SIB 20. Note that the MCCH transmission (and reception) may be performed before step S11 or may be performed simultaneously with step S11.”, teaches transmitting MCCH configuration over SIB 20 for receiving MCCH);
determining a multicast point-to-multipoint (PTM) configuration for an inactive state of the device; and transmitting, via the MCCH, the multicast PTM configuration to the device for configuring the device with the multicast PTM configuration (FUJISHIRO [52] “Such a PTM configuration is also referred to as a Multicast Radio Bearer (MRB) configuration, an MTCH configuration, or a multicast configuration.”, [0062] “In step S12, the UE 100 transitions to the RRC inactive (INACTIVE) state in response to reception of the RRC Release message in step S11”, [63] “In step S13, the gNB 200 transmits the MCCH including the MBS configuration (multicast configuration) relating to the multicast sessions. The UE 100 receives the MCCH.”, [0167] “The following general description provides a baseline for PTM Configuration distribution Option 2. [0168] (2-a) The PTM configuration (i.e., the configuration used for multicast reception in the RRC inactive state) is provided via a channel such as an MCCH (that is the same as or different from that used for MBS broadcast), and the information relating to MCCH scheduling is provided via an SIB or dedicated signaling (which needs to be further studied). [0169] (2-b) The UE can receive such a configuration when the UE is in the RRC inactive state. Whether the UE is also permitted or needs to receive the configuration in the RRC connected state needs to be further studied. [0170] (2-c) If part or entirety of the received configuration needs to be updated, the UE does not need to resume RRC connection, yet is notified of such a change (e.g. via MCCH DCI) and acquires the updated configuration via the MCCH.”, teaches gNB transmitting a PTM configuration via the MCCH for an inactive state for receiving multicast data. Determining the PTM configuration is inherent in FUJISHIRO, as gNB manages PTM configurations and provides updated configuration as recited in [0170] above, therefore, transmitting a PTM configuration inherently involves determining a PTM configuration to be transmitted).
FUJISHIRO does not expressly teach, however, in the same field of endeavor, LIU teaches, transmitting, via UE dedicated signaling, the transmission to the device for configuration of an MCCH for the device with an MCCH configuration related to the MCCH configuration information (LIU [37] “In an embodiment, the network device may send the dedicated signaling, and the dedicated signaling carries the configuration information of the MCCH, such as a resource configuration for receiving the MCCH”, [38] “Since the network device may send the dedicated signaling to the terminal only after establishing a connection with the terminal, the terminal needs to be in the connected state to receive the dedicated signaling and obtain the configuration information of the MCCH from the dedicated signaling.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of FUJISHIRO to include the features as taught by LIU above in order to receive the multicast service in non-connected state (LIU [0002]).
Regarding claims 3, 11 and 18, FUJISHIRO, in view of LIU, teaches the CRM/method/baseband, as outlined in the rejection of claims 1, 9 and 16.
LIU further teaches, wherein the MCCH configuration information includes first MCCH configuration information, and wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the device to: identify a first transmission that includes the first MCCH configuration information, wherein the first MCCH configuration information includes a first portion of the MCCH configuration; and
identify a second transmission that provides second MCCH configuration information received via broadcast signaling, wherein the second MCCH configuration information includes a second portion of the MCCH configuration, and wherein the MCCH configuration is determined further based at least in part on the second MCCH configuration information (LIU [42] “For example, the configuration information of the MCCH may include a first part of the configuration information and a second part of the configuration information. The network device may carry the first part of the configuration information in the broadcast message and send it, and may carry the second part of the configuration information in the dedicated signaling and send it. The terminal may obtain the first part of the configuration
information from the broadcast message, obtain the second part of the configuration information from the dedicated signaling, and then determine the complete configuration information of the MCCH according to the first part of the configuration information and the second part of the configuration information.”).
Regarding claim 6, FUJISHIRO, in view of LIU, teaches the CRM/method/baseband, as outlined in the rejection of claim 1.
LIU further teaches, identify a transmission that includes the MCCH configuration information received via UE dedicated signaling (LIU [37] “In an embodiment, the network device may send the dedicated signaling, and the dedicated signaling carries the configuration information of the MCCH, such as a resource configuration for receiving the MCCH”).
Claims 2, 10 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FUJISHIRO in view of LIU, as applied to the rejection of claims 1, 9 and 16 above, and further in view of Jung; Myung Cheul et al US 20140161020 A1, hereinafter Jung.
Regarding claims 2, 10 and 17, FUJISHIRO, in view of LIU, teaches the CRM/method/baseband, as outlined in the rejection of claims 1, 9 and 16.
FUJISHIRO and LIU do not expressly teach, however, in the same field of endeavor, Jung teaches, wherein: the MCCH configuration information includes an indication of the MCCH configuration; and to determine the MCCH configuration includes to identify the indication of the MCCH configuration in the MCCH configuration information (Jung [0094] “The target cell transmits MCCH configuration information indicating the configuration of an MCCH … to the UE via a BCCH (S1010).”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of FUJISHIRO and LIU to include the features as taught by Jung above in order to provide a method that supports service continuity for UEs using an MBMS (Jung [0009]).
Claims 7 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FUJISHIRO in view of LIU, as applied to the rejection of claims 1, 9 and 16 above, and further in view of IDS reference SHRIVASTAVA VINAY KUMAR WO2022211499 A1, hereinafter SHRIVASTAVA.
Regarding claims 7 and 14, FUJISHIRO, in view of LIU, teaches the CRM/method, as outlined in the rejection of claims 1 and 9.
FUJISHIRO and LIU do not expressly teach, however, in the same field of endeavor, SHRIVASTAVA teaches, identify reconfiguration information related to a medium access control (MAC) related scheduling/discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration received via the MCCH; and reconfigure the multicast PTM configuration based at least in part on the reconfiguration information
(SHRIVASTAVA [402] “Accordingly, the embodiments herein provide methods for handling a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration in a wireless network. The method includes sending, by a network entity, a MCCH signalling message to a UE. The MCCH signalling message includes at least one of a list of DRX scheduling configurations and a list of MBS service configurations. Further, the method includes mapping, by the network entity, the DRX scheduling configuration with a point-to-multipoint (PTM) service configuration based on an index of the DRX scheduling configuration provided in the PTM service configuration in the MCCH signalling message.”, [352] “At 1302, the method includes sending the MCCH signalling message to the UE (100). The MCCH signalling message includes at least one of the list of DRX scheduling configurations and the list of MBS service configurations. At 1304, the method includes mapping the DRX scheduling configuration with the PTM service configuration based on the index of the DRX scheduling configuration provided in the PTM service configuration in the MCCH signalling message.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of FUJISHIRO and LIU to include the features as taught by SHRIVASTAVA above in order to provide efficient and effective methods for MCCH configuration and operation and handling idle/inactive mode operation for NR Multicast Broadcast Services (MBS) for New Radio (NR) in a 5th generation Radio Access Technology (RAT) (SHRIVASTAVA [11]).
Claims 8 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FUJISHIRO in view of LIU and SHRIVASTAVA, as applied to the rejection of claims 8 above, and further in view of LEE; Kuo-Chun et al US 20180167881 A1, hereinafter LEE.
Regarding claims 8 and 15, FUJISHIRO, in view of LIU, teaches the CRM/method, as outlined in the rejection of claims 7 and 14.
While SHRIVASTAVA suggesting DRX offset as different DRXs are provided for different PTM services as disclosed in [220], [221] “In an embodiment, DRX scheduling configuration information is provided as a list of DRX scheduling where each one has pertinent one or more PTM services.”, FUJISHIRO and LIU and SHRIVASTAVA do not expressly teach, however, in the same field of endeavor, LEE teaches, wherein the reconfiguration information includes DRX offset information (LEE [66] “The SC-PTM DRX schedule may indicate, for example, a value for an SC-PTM DRX cycle length (e.g., an SC-MTCH-SchedulingCycle parameter), a value for an SC-PTM DRX offset (e.g., an SC-MTCH-SchedulingOffset parameter), …”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of FUJISHIRO and LIU and SHRIVASTAVA to include the features as taught by LEE above in order to provide power efficient alignment of CDRX (connected mode discontinuous reception) and SC-PTM (single cell point-to-multipoint) DRX schedules (LEE [0001]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 12 and 19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Reason for allowance: prior art fails to teach limitation “identify a second transmission that provides an MCCH configuration index received via scheduling downlink control information (DCI), wherein to determine the MCCH configuration includes to determine the MCCH configuration from the one or more MCCH configurations based at least in part on the MCCH configuration index.”. Claims 5, 13 and 20 are objected to because of their dependence on the above objected claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
LI; Yang US 20250048062 A1 - MULTICAST AND BROADCAST SERVICE IN VARIOUS RADIO RESOURCE CONTROL STATES.
FUJISHIRO; Masato US 20250358892 A1 - COMMUNICATION METHOD.
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/MAHBUBUL BAR CHOWDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2475