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
This is in response to an amendment/response filed 3/24/2026.
No claims have been cancelled.
No claims have been added.
Claims 1-15 and 20-22 are now pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/24/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On page 10-13 of the remarks, in regard to the independent claims and claim 6, the Applicant disagrees with the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. US 20230403759 (hereinafter “Li”) in view of Babaei et al. US 20230370905 (hereinafter “Babaei”)
Specifically, the Applicant remarks:
Li does not teach "wherein the first resource information further includes control resource set configuration information and search space information"
The provisional does not disclose the subject matter of Li paragraph [0246]
The Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Regarding (1), this is clearly taught in [0191] "In a third alternative, a UE may be configured with dedicated CORESET and search space for scheduling the MBS transmission. The configuration of CORESET may be with respect to the MBS BWP or MBS frequency band. Or configuration of CORESET may be with respect to the initial BWP. A new common search space (CSS) with new PDCCH type, e.g., Type4-PDCCH, or a new group search space (GSS) may be introduced to configure the search space for MBS". This is also with respect to the frequency band so the configuration also includes "frequency domain position" and the combination of Li and Babaei teaches "first resource information comprises at least a subcarrier spacing". See MPEP 2145 IV, “One cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references.”
Regarding (2), the Examiner agrees that the provisional does not fully disclose what is exactly mentioned in paragraph [0246], but the provisional still teaches the limitation/concept since the indication information can be carried in a RRC message, MAC-CE, common channel, OR DCI. For example, in the section under "scheduling for MBS in RRC idle/inactive", the provisional mentions using MBS scheduling DCI and that DCI is transmitted with CRC scrambled by G-RNTI. Therefore, the rejection is still proper.
On page 13 of the remarks, in regard to the claim 3 and 10, the Applicant disagrees with the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Babaei, as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Kadiri et al. US 20210127448 (hereinafter “Kadiri”)
Specifically, the Applicant remarks:
Kadiri does not teach or suggest that the first resource information includes control resource set configuration information and search space information together with frequency domain position information, cyclic prefix, and subcarrier spacing.
The Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Regarding (1), the combination of Li, Babaei, and Kadiri teaches this limitation. See MPEP 2145 IV, “One cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references.”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Li et al. US 20230403759 (hereinafter “Li”).
As to claim 20:
Li discloses:
A communication method applicable to a terminal device, the method comprising: obtaining first resource information, (“In one scenario, the UE may only need to receive the MBS with small packet in RRC idle/inactive. In this case, the UE may be configured with an MBS frequency band that is narrower than the initial BWP with the MBS frequency band falls into the initial BWP in frequency. An example of such MBS frequency band is shown in FIG. 4.”, Li [0096]) (“For example, in RRC idle/inactive, a UE may be configured with initial BWP with frequency range [f.sub.1, f.sub.2]. Such frequency range or frequency band may be common to UEs for delivering MBS services. In one example, the UE may determine the common frequency range [f.sub.1, f.sub.2] based on the CORESET #0, i.e., the frequency location of the initial BWP equals to the frequency location of the CORESET #0 indicated in the MIB.”, Li [0097])
wherein the first resource information comprises at least one of frequency domain position information, a cyclic prefix, or a subcarrier spacing; (“For example, in RRC idle/inactive, a UE may be configured with initial BWP with frequency range [f.sub.1, f.sub.2]. Such frequency range or frequency band may be common to UEs for delivering MBS services. In one example, the UE may determine the common frequency range [f.sub.1, f.sub.2] based on the CORESET #0, i.e., the frequency location of the initial BWP equals to the frequency location of the CORESET #0 indicated in the MIB. In another example, the UE may determine the common frequency range [f.sub.1, f.sub.2] through the SIB1, e.g., through the RRC configuration initialDownlinkBWP in the SIB1. The UE may be configured with the MBS frequency band with frequency range [f.sub.3, f.sub.4], where [f.sub.3, f.sub.4].Math.[f.sub.1, f.sub.2], e.g., the MBS frequency band may be configured with frequency size smaller than the initial BWP that is equal to the CORESET #0, or the MBS frequency band may be configured with frequency size smaller than the initial BWP that is configured by the SIB1.”, Li [0097])
and receiving a multicast broadcast service in a radio access control (RRC) idle state or an RRC inactive state based on the first resource information; (“In one scenario, the UE may only need to receive the MBS with small packet in RRC idle/inactive. In this case, the UE may be configured with an MBS frequency band that is narrower than the initial BWP with the MBS frequency band falls into the initial BWP in frequency. An example of such MBS frequency band is shown in FIG. 4.”, Li [0096]) (“For example, in RRC idle/inactive, a UE may be configured with initial BWP with frequency range [f.sub.1, f.sub.2]. Such frequency range or frequency band may be common to UEs for delivering MBS services. In one example, the UE may determine the common frequency range [f.sub.1, f.sub.2] based on the CORESET #0, i.e., the frequency location of the initial BWP equals to the frequency location of the CORESET #0 indicated in the MIB.”, Li [0097])
wherein obtaining the first resource information further comprises: receiving first indication information from a network device, wherein the first indication information indicates the terminal device to receive the multicast broadcast service in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state based on the first resource information; determining the first resource information based on the first indication information; (FIG. 3, FIG. 5, FIG. 7 and FIG. 9, Li)
wherein the first resource information further includes one or more frequency domain position information or a cyclic prefix; (“For example, in RRC idle/inactive, a UE may be configured with initial BWP with frequency range [f.sub.1, f.sub.2]. Such frequency range or frequency band may be common to UEs for delivering MBS services. In one example, the UE may determine the common frequency range [f.sub.1, f.sub.2] based on the CORESET #0, i.e., the frequency location of the initial BWP equals to the frequency location of the CORESET #0 indicated in the MIB. In another example, the UE may determine the common frequency range [f.sub.1, f.sub.2] through the SIB1, e.g., through the RRC configuration initialDownlinkBWP in the SIB1. The UE may be configured with the MBS frequency band with frequency range [f.sub.3, f.sub.4], where [f.sub.3, f.sub.4].Math.[f.sub.1, f.sub.2], e.g., the MBS frequency band may be configured with frequency size smaller than the initial BWP that is equal to the CORESET #0, or the MBS frequency band may be configured with frequency size smaller than the initial BWP that is configured by the SIB1.”, Li [0097])
and wherein the first resource information further includes control resource set configuration information and search space information; (“In a third alternative, a UE may be configured with dedicated CORESET and search space for scheduling the MBS transmission. The configuration of CORESET may be with respect to the MBS BWP or MBS frequency band. Or configuration of CORESET may be with respect to the initial BWP. A new common search space (CSS) with new PDCCH type, e.g., Type4-PDCCH, or a new group search space (GSS) may be introduced to configure the search space for MBS.”, Li [0191])
and wherein a first resource indicated by the first resource information completely or partially overlaps a frequency domain resource corresponding to a first control resource set. (“As an alternative, we propose that the transmission of the MBS, e.g., MBS-MCCH or MBS-MTCH, may be fully overlapped or partially overlapped with other transmissions occurred on the initial BWP in time, e.g., the UE may simultaneously monitor the MBS transmission and the other transmissions occurred on the initial BWP. In one scenario, the UE may only need to receive the MBS with small packet in RRC idle/inactive. In this case, the UE may be configured with an MBS frequency band that is narrower than the initial BWP with the MBS frequency band falls into the initial BWP in frequency. An example of such MBS frequency band is shown in FIG. 4.”, Li [0096]) (“The UE may monitor and receive the MBS transmission in the MBS TU configured for the UE within the configured MBS frequency band. The MBS TU may be fully overlapped or partially overlapped with the TUs for other transmissions occurred on the initial BWP in time.”, Li [0098]) (“In step 5a, if the check result in step 4 is yes, e.g., the MBS TU is fully overlapped, or is partially overlapped with other TUs, etc., the UE may continue to operate with the initial BWP and receive the MBS transmission on the initial BWP. In this case, no switching in frequency is performed. Note in the case, the UE is still operated with one BWP while operating with two sets of configurations, i.e., configuration for initial BWP and configuration for MBS frequency band. For example, the UE may still determine the frequency location for the CORESET transmitted on the initial BWP based on the corresponding CORESET configuration and the initial BWP configuration. The UE may determine the frequency location for the CORESET transmitted on the MBS frequency band based on the corresponding CORESET configuration and the MBS frequency band configuration”, Li [0108])
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4-9, 11-15, and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. US 20230403759 (hereinafter “Li”) in view of Babaei et al. US 20230370905 (hereinafter “Babaei”)
As to claim 1:
Li discloses:
A communication method applicable to a terminal device, the method comprising: obtaining first resource information, (“In one scenario, the UE may only need to receive the MBS with small packet in RRC idle/inactive. In this case, the UE may be configured with an MBS frequency band that is narrower than the initial BWP with the MBS frequency band falls into the initial BWP in frequency. An example of such MBS frequency band is shown in FIG. 4.”, Li [0096]) (“For example, in RRC idle/inactive, a UE may be configured with initial BWP with frequency range [f.sub.1, f.sub.2]. Such frequency range or frequency band may be common to UEs for delivering MBS services. In one example, the UE may determine the common frequency range [f.sub.1, f.sub.2] based on the CORESET #0, i.e., the frequency location of the initial BWP equals to the frequency location of the CORESET #0 indicated in the MIB.”, Li [0097])
and receiving a multicast broadcast service in a radio access control (RRC) idle state or an RRC inactive state based on the first resource information; (“In one scenario, the UE may only need to receive the MBS with small packet in RRC idle/inactive. In this case, the UE may be configured with an MBS frequency band that is narrower than the initial BWP with the MBS frequency band falls into the initial BWP in frequency. An example of such MBS frequency band is shown in FIG. 4.”, Li [0096]) (“For example, in RRC idle/inactive, a UE may be configured with initial BWP with frequency range [f.sub.1, f.sub.2]. Such frequency range or frequency band may be common to UEs for delivering MBS services. In one example, the UE may determine the common frequency range [f.sub.1, f.sub.2] based on the CORESET #0, i.e., the frequency location of the initial BWP equals to the frequency location of the CORESET #0 indicated in the MIB.”, Li [0097])
wherein the first resource information further includes one or more of frequency domain position information or a cyclic prefix; (“For example, in RRC idle/inactive, a UE may be configured with initial BWP with frequency range [f.sub.1, f.sub.2]. Such frequency range or frequency band may be common to UEs for delivering MBS services. In one example, the UE may determine the common frequency range [f.sub.1, f.sub.2] based on the CORESET #0, i.e., the frequency location of the initial BWP equals to the frequency location of the CORESET #0 indicated in the MIB. In another example, the UE may determine the common frequency range [f.sub.1, f.sub.2] through the SIB1, e.g., through the RRC configuration initialDownlinkBWP in the SIB1. The UE may be configured with the MBS frequency band with frequency range [f.sub.3, f.sub.4], where [f.sub.3, f.sub.4].Math.[f.sub.1, f.sub.2], e.g., the MBS frequency band may be configured with frequency size smaller than the initial BWP that is equal to the CORESET #0, or the MBS frequency band may be configured with frequency size smaller than the initial BWP that is configured by the SIB1.”, Li [0097])
and wherein the first resource information further includes control resource set configuration information and search space information; (“In a third alternative, a UE may be configured with dedicated CORESET and search space for scheduling the MBS transmission. The configuration of CORESET may be with respect to the MBS BWP or MBS frequency band. Or configuration of CORESET may be with respect to the initial BWP. A new common search space (CSS) with new PDCCH type, e.g., Type4-PDCCH, or a new group search space (GSS) may be introduced to configure the search space for MBS.”, Li [0191])
and wherein a first resource indicated by the first resource information completely or partially overlaps a frequency domain resource corresponding to a first control resource set. (“As an alternative, we propose that the transmission of the MBS, e.g., MBS-MCCH or MBS-MTCH, may be fully overlapped or partially overlapped with other transmissions occurred on the initial BWP in time, e.g., the UE may simultaneously monitor the MBS transmission and the other transmissions occurred on the initial BWP. In one scenario, the UE may only need to receive the MBS with small packet in RRC idle/inactive. In this case, the UE may be configured with an MBS frequency band that is narrower than the initial BWP with the MBS frequency band falls into the initial BWP in frequency. An example of such MBS frequency band is shown in FIG. 4.”, Li [0096]) (“The UE may monitor and receive the MBS transmission in the MBS TU configured for the UE within the configured MBS frequency band. The MBS TU may be fully overlapped or partially overlapped with the TUs for other transmissions occurred on the initial BWP in time.”, Li [0098]) (“In step 5a, if the check result in step 4 is yes, e.g., the MBS TU is fully overlapped, or is partially overlapped with other TUs, etc., the UE may continue to operate with the initial BWP and receive the MBS transmission on the initial BWP. In this case, no switching in frequency is performed. Note in the case, the UE is still operated with one BWP while operating with two sets of configurations, i.e., configuration for initial BWP and configuration for MBS frequency band. For example, the UE may still determine the frequency location for the CORESET transmitted on the initial BWP based on the corresponding CORESET configuration and the initial BWP configuration. The UE may determine the frequency location for the CORESET transmitted on the MBS frequency band based on the corresponding CORESET configuration and the MBS frequency band configuration”, Li [0108])
Li as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein the first resource information comprises at least a subcarrier spacing;
However, Babaei further teaches receiving subcarrier spacing information which includes:
wherein the first resource information comprises at least a subcarrier spacing; (“While in the RRC Idle state or the RRC Inactivate state, the UE may receive a broadcast message (e.g., a system information block (SIB) message such as SIB11) comprising measurement configuration parameters. For example, the broadcast message (e.g., a SIB message, e.g., SIB11) may comprise a MeasIdleConfig information element or a MeasIdleConfigSIB information element that indicate one or more thresholds for L1 measurements, beam level configuration parameters, carrier frequency to be used for measurements during RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE states, the list of frequency bands for which the idle/inactive measurement parameters apply, one or more parameters indicating whether or not the UE may include beam measurements in the NR idle/inactive measurement results, the duration for performing idle/inactive measurements while in RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE, number of SS blocks to average for cell measurement derivation, one or more subcarrier spacing parameter, etc.”, Babaei [0151])
Li and Babaei are analogous because they pertain to receiving broadcast message while in RRC IDLE/INACTIVE state.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include receiving subcarrier spacing information as described in Babaei into Li. By modifying the method to include receiving subcarrier spacing information as taught by Li, the benefits of improved power consumption (Babaei [0141] and Li [0081]) are achieved.
As to claim 2:
Li discloses:
The communication method according to claim 1, wherein a first resource indicated by the first resource information is a predefined resource; or a first resource indicated by the first resource information is a resource used when the terminal device receives the multicast broadcast service in an RRC connected state. (FIG. 3, FIG. 5, FIG. 7 and FIG. 9, Li) (“In yet another alternative, a UE may receive the configuration of the MBS BWP to be used in RRC idle/inactive when the UE is in the RRC connected mode. For example, a UE may receive such configuration when the UE is in RRC connected mode, e.g., through broadcast signaling or through UE dedicated signaling. When the UE transits from the RRC connected state to RRC idle/inactive state, the UE may keep the received MBS BWP configuration and use the received MBS BWP configuration to determine the MBS BWP to be used in the RRC idle/inactive.”, Li [0148])
As to claim 4:
Li discloses:
The communication method according to claim 1, wherein obtaining the first resource information further comprises: receiving first indication information from a network device, wherein the first indication information indicates the terminal device to receive the multicast broadcast service in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state based on the first resource information; and determining the first resource information based on the first indication information. (FIG. 3, FIG. 5, FIG. 7 and FIG. 9, Li)
As to claim 5:
Li discloses:
The communication method according to claim 4, wherein the first indication information carries the first resource information; or the first resource information is resource information used when the terminal device receives the multicast broadcast service in an RRC connected state, and the first indication information indicates the terminal device to continue to use the resource information used when the terminal device receives the multicast broadcast service in the RRC connected state. (FIG. 3, FIG. 5, FIG. 7 and FIG. 9, Li)
As to claim 6:
Li discloses:
The communication method according to claim 4, further comprising: carrying the first indication information in a RRC message, a media access control control element (MAC CE), a common channel, or downlink control information (DCI); (“It is disclosed herein that the functionality of the configured scheduling and the semi-persistent scheduling of the MBS PDSCH for the UEs in RRC idle/inactive state may be enabled and disabled. A UE may determine whether configured scheduling and the semi-persistent scheduling is enabled or disabled through the RRC signaling or MAC-CE transmitted by the gNB.”, Li [0246])
and scrambling the DCI by using a radio network temporary identifier associated with the multicast broadcast service. (“When the paging CORESET and search space are reused, in one approach, the MBS transmission may be scheduled by the DCI with CRC scrambled by G-RNTI, e.g., through DCI format 4_0, or DCI format 4_1, etc. In this approach, the UE needs to monitor the DCI format used for MBS to receive the scheduling. Meanwhile, the UE also needs to monitor the paging DCI used for scheduling the short message transmission or used for scheduling the paging message transmission.”, Li [0185])
As to claim 7:
Li discloses:
The communication method according to claim 3, further comprising: sending second indication information to the network device, wherein the second indication information indicates that the terminal device has a capability to receive the multicast broadcast service in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state based on the first resource information, is used to request the network device to send the first resource information, indicates the first resource information requested by the terminal device, or indicates the terminal device to request RRC connection release. (“To help the gNB determine how to configure the MBS frequency band or the MBS BWP, a UE may report its corresponding capability. In one example, the methods to configure the MBS frequency band or the MBS BWP may be categorized into different cases, e.g., categorized into case 1-case 5 based on the bandwidth size that can be configured. The UE may report the case(s) that the UE can support to the gNB. In another example, the UE may report the bandwidth the UE can support in the RRC idle/inactive, e.g., maximum bandwidth, to the gNB. In yet another example, the UE may report the package size, e.g., transport block size, of the MBS the UE can support in the RRC idle/inactive, e.g., maximum package size, to the gNB. Based on the reported UE capability, the gNB may determine how to configure the MBS frequency band or the MBS BWP. In the previous examples, the UE reports explicit capability support (e.g., package size support, maximum bandwidth, etc.). In another example, such capabilities may be reported by the UE implicitly as a type/profile that encapsulates these parameters together with other information and reported to the gNB that can derive the specific UE capabilities.”, Li [0141])
As to claim 8:
Claim 8 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 1 from the perspective of the network device.
As to claim 9:
Claim 9 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 2 from the perspective of the network device.
As to claim 11:
Claim 11 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 4 from the perspective of the network device.
As to claim 12:
Claim 11 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 5 from the perspective of the network device.
As to claim 13:
Claim 13 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 6 from the perspective of the network device.
As to claim 14:
Claim 14 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 7 from the perspective of the network device.
As to claim 15:
A communications apparatus, comprising at least one processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores instructions, and when the instructions are run on a computer, the computer is enabled to perform the method according to claim 1. (“FIG. 26F is a block diagram of an example apparatus or device WTRU 102 that may be configured for wireless communications and operations in accordance with the systems, methods, and apparatuses described herein, such as a WTRU 102 of FIGS. 26A-E. As shown in FIG. 26F, the example WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit/receive element 122, a speaker/microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display/touchpad/indicators 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and other peripherals 138. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements. Also, the base stations 114a and 114b, and/or the nodes that base stations 114a and 114b may represent, such as but not limited to transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, a site controller, an access point (AP), a home node-B, an evolved home node-B (eNodeB), a home evolved node-B (HeNB), a home evolved node-B gateway, a next generation node-B (gNode-B), and proxy nodes, among others, may include some or all of the elements depicted in FIG. 26F and described herein.”, Li [0371])
As to claim 21:
Li discloses:
The communication method according to claim 7, further comprising: receiving third indication information from the network device, where the third indication information
indicates update information of the first resource,
indicates to stop using the first resource information,
or indicates the terminal device to switch the first resource for receiving the multicast broadcast service to a second resource;
and performing one of the following operations based on the third indication information:
updating the first resource information;
stop using the first resource information;
or switching the first resource for receiving the multicast broadcast service to the second resource. (FIG. 3, FIG. 5, FIG. 7 and FIG. 9, Li) (“In step 4, if the check result in step 3 is yes, e.g., the initial BWP TU has overlapping with the MBS TU, regardless whether the initial BWP TU and the MBS TU are fully overlapping or partially overlapping, the UE may perform BWP switching and switch from the initial BWP to the MBS BWP. The UE may monitor and receive the MBS transmission, and may monitor and receive the transmission occurred on the initial BWP using the MBS BWP within the whole configured initial BWP TU. Note in the case, the UE is still operated with one BWP while operating with two sets of BWP-configurations, i.e., configuration for initial BWP and configuration for MBS BWP. For example, the UE may still determine the frequency location for the CORESET transmitted on the initial BWP based on the corresponding CORESET configuration and the initial BWP configuration. The UE may determine the frequency location for the CORESET transmitted on the MBS BWP based on the corresponding CORESET configuration and the MBS BWP configuration.”, Li [0124])
As to claim 22:
Claim 22 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 21 from the perspective of the network device.
Claim(s) 3 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Babaei, as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Kadiri et al. US 20210127448 (hereinafter “Kadiri”) and Fujishiro et al. US 20230354465 (hereinafter “Fujishiro”)
As to claim 3:
The combination of Li and Babaei as described above does not explicitly teach:
The communication method according to claim 2, further comprising: receiving an RRC connection release message from a network device, wherein the RRC connection release message does not carry the first resource information and the RRC connection release message indicates the terminal device to continue to use resource information used when the terminal device receives the multicast broadcast service in an RRC connected state.
However, Kadiri further teaches RRC connection release message that does not include resource information which includes:
The communication method according to claim 2, further comprising: receiving an RRC connection release message from a network device, wherein the RRC connection release message does not carry the first resource information. (“In a third operation 520, the UE 120 may transition from the connected state to an idle state or an inactive state after the MRB 510 has been configured, such as by exiting the connected state and entering one of the idle state or the inactive state. For example, the UE 120 may transition from an RRC connected state 405 to an RRC idle state 410 via RRC connection release 425 (sometimes referred to as detaching from the network). Alternatively, the UE may transition from the RRC connected state 405 to the RRC inactive state 415 via RRC connection suspension 430 (also referred to as RRC suspend or RRC release with suspend).”, Kadiri [0065]) (“FIG. 4 is a state machine diagram illustrating states of a radio resource control (RRC) procedure and transitions between the states in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As shown, a UE may transition among an RRC connected state 405, an RRC idle state 410, and an RRC inactive state 415. An RRC procedure may be used, for example, for connection establishment, re-establishment, or release between a UE and a base station, for on-demand transfer of system information, for suspension or resumption of an RRC connection, for signaling relating to handover, or for radio link handling, among other examples.”, Kadiri [0051])
Li, Kadiri, and Babaei are analogous because they pertain to receiving broadcast message while in RRC IDLE/INACTIVE state.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include RRC connection release message that does not include resource information as described in Kadiri into Li as modified by Babaei. By modifying the method to include RRC connection release message that does not include resource information as taught by Kadiri, the benefits of improved power consumption (Babaei [0141], Kadiri [0030], and Li [0081]) are achieved.
The combination of Li, Kadiri, and Babaei as described above does not explicitly teach:
and the RRC connection release message indicates the terminal device to continue to use resource information used when the terminal device receives the multicast broadcast service in an RRC connected state.
However, Fujishiro further teaches continuing to use MBS configuration between states which includes:
and the RRC connection release message indicates the terminal device to continue to use resource information used when the terminal device receives the multicast broadcast service in an RRC connected state. (“In the present variation, the gNB 200 notifies, by using an RRC Release message, the UE 100 about whether the MBS configuration (specifically, the basic reception configuration) obtained through the RRC Reconfiguration message may be used even in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state. That is, the UE 100 receives, from the gNB 200, an RRC Release message including information indicating whether to enable the MBS configuration received in the RRC connected state to be used in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state.”, Fujishiro [0175]) (“In the case of A) described above, the UE 100 continues to use the MBS configuration in the RRC Reconfiguration message of Step S606 in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state only when having received, from the gNB 200, the RRC Release message including information indicating that continuous use is permitted (Step S602).”, Fujishiro [0180])
Li, Kadiri, Fujishiro, and Babaei are analogous because they pertain to receiving broadcast message while in RRC IDLE/INACTIVE state.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include continuing to use MBS configuration between states as described in Fujishiro into Li as modified by Babaei and Kadiri. By modifying the method to include continuing to use MBS configuration between states as taught by Fujishiro, the benefits of improved power consumption (Babaei [0141], Kadiri [0030], Fujishiro [0218], and Li [0081]) are achieved.
As to claim 10:
Claim 10 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 3 from the perspective of the network device.
Conclusion
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 ANDREW C KIM whose telephone number is (703)756-5607. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM - 5PM (PST).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sujoy K Kundu can be reached at (571) 272-8586. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/A.C.K./
Examiner
Art Unit 2471
/SUJOY K KUNDU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2471
Prosecution Insights