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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to communications filed 03/11/2026.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/11/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant asserts that Jin does not teach SDT configuration information comprising an identifier of a network slice group and corresponding to the network slice group. However, Jin [0108-0115] explicitly recites “The network slice indicator information is identifier information of a network slice … The network slice indicator information may be represented by using at least one of the following parameters: …slice group information”. The response message includes the identifier information and is used to instruct to transmit a small data packet (Jin [0039]; where small data packet is mapped to the SDT). The identifier information being used to instruct to transmit a small data packet reads on the sending of SDT data based on the configuration information. Further in response to applicant’s assertion that ‘instruction triggering transmission’ is not equivalent to ‘configuration information defining how SDT data transmission is performed for a network slice’, the broadest reasonable interpretation of performing a transmission includes triggering a transmission.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 6, 10, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jin (Pub. No.: US 2020/0022083 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Jin teaches
A communication method (Jin [0004-0006]: communications method), wherein the method is applied to a terminal device or a chip system in the terminal device (Jin [0004-0006]: terminal device), and the method comprises:
receiving configuration information from a network device, wherein the configuration information comprises small data transmission (SDT) configuration information, the SDT configuration information comprising an identifier of a network slice group and corresponding to the network slice group (Jin [0039]: response message sent by the first network device to the terminal device (receiving configuration information from a network device), where the first response message is used to instruct the terminal device to transmit a small data packet (SDT configuration); fig. 4, [0108], [0114], and [0118]: previous messaging included slice indicator information including slice group information used for further transmissions, this previous messaging corresponds to the SDT configuration that is sent in the next step as the group information is used to instruct communication between the devices; Jin [0109-0116]: network slice identifier including group information); and
sending SDT data of a network slice in the network slice group to the network device based on the SDT configuration information (Jin [0039]: terminal device sending small data packet based on the information from the network device; Jin [0108-0115]: “The network slice indicator information is identifier information of a network slice with which the terminal device intends to communicate and/or indicates an AMF corresponding to a network slice with which the terminal device intends to communicate. The network slice indicator information may be represented by using at least one of the following parameters: …slice group information”).
Regarding claim 6, Jin teaches
A communication method (Jin [0004-0006]: communications method), wherein the method is applied to a network device (Jin [0006]: network device), and the method comprises:
sending configuration information to a terminal device, wherein the configuration information comprises small data transmission (SDT) configuration information, the SDT configuration information comprising an identifier of a network slice group and corresponding to the network slice group (Jin [0039]: response message sent by the first network device to the terminal device, where the first response message is used to instruct the terminal device to transmit a small data packet (SDT configuration); fig. 4, [0108], [0114], and [0118]: previous messaging included slice indicator information including slice group information used for further transmissions, this previous messaging corresponds to the SDT configuration that is sent in the next step as the group information is used to instruct communication between the devices; Jin [0109-0116]: network slice identifier including group information);
receiving SDT data from the terminal device (Jin [0039]: terminal device sending small data packet to the terminal device); and
determining, based on the SDT configuration information, that the SDT data is data of a network slice in the network slice group (Jin [0108] and [0113-0114]: the slice group enabled transmission between the network device and the AMF, [0131] and fig. 4 shows the transmission between the network device and AMF occurring after receiving the SDT data; Jin [0108-0115]: “The network slice indicator information is identifier information of a network slice with which the terminal device intends to communicate and/or indicates an AMF corresponding to a network slice with which the terminal device intends to communicate. The network slice indicator information may be represented by using at least one of the following parameters: …slice group information”).
Regarding claim 10, Jin teaches
A communication apparatus (Jin [0208]: communication apparatus), comprising:
at least one processor (Jin [0060]: processor); and
a memory coupled to the at least one processor and configured to store executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the communication apparatus to (Jin [0060] and fig. 9: memory coupled to processor to perform the method):
receive configuration information from a network device, wherein the configuration information comprises small data transmission (SDT) configuration information, the SDT configuration information comprising an identifier of a network slice group and corresponding to the network slice group (Jin [0039]: response message sent by the first network device to the terminal device (receiving configuration information from a network device), where the first response message is used to instruct the terminal device to transmit a small data packet (SDT configuration); fig. 4, [0108], [0114], and [0118]: previous messaging included slice indicator information including slice group information used for further transmissions, this previous messaging corresponds to the SDT configuration that is sent in the next step as the group information is used to instruct communication between the devices; Jin [0109-0116]: network slice identifier including group information); and
send SDT data of a network slice in the network slice group to the network device based on the SDT configuration information (Jin [0039]: terminal device sending small data packet based on the information from the network device; Jin [0108-0115]: “The network slice indicator information is identifier information of a network slice with which the terminal device intends to communicate and/or indicates an AMF corresponding to a network slice with which the terminal device intends to communicate. The network slice indicator information may be represented by using at least one of the following parameters: …slice group information”).
Regarding claim 15, Jin teaches
A communication apparatus (Jin [0208]: communication apparatus), comprising:
at least one processor (Jin [0061]: processor); and
a memory coupled to the at least one processor and configured to store executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the communication apparatus to (Jin [0061] and fig. 11: memory coupled to the processor to perform a method):
send configuration information to a terminal device, wherein the configuration information comprises small data transmission (SDT) configuration information, the SDT configuration information comprising an identifier of a network slice group and corresponding to the network slice group (Jin [0039]: response message sent by the first network device to the terminal device, where the first response message is used to instruct the terminal device to transmit a small data packet (SDT configuration); fig. 4, [0108], [0114], and [0118]: previous messaging included slice indicator information including slice group information used for further transmissions, this previous messaging corresponds to the SDT configuration that is sent in the next step as the group information is used to instruct communication between the devices; Jin [0109-0116]: network slice identifier including group information);
receive SDT data from the terminal device (Jin [0039]: terminal device sending small data packet to the terminal device); and
determine, based on the SDT configuration information, that the SDT data is data of a network slice in the network slice group (Jin [0108] and [0113-0114]: the slice group enabled transmission between the network device and the AMF, [0131] and fig. 4 shows the transmission between the network device and AMF occurring after receiving the SDT data; Jin [0108-0115]: “The network slice indicator information is identifier information of a network slice with which the terminal device intends to communicate and/or indicates an AMF corresponding to a network slice with which the terminal device intends to communicate. The network slice indicator information may be represented by using at least one of the following parameters: …slice group information”).
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 2-3, 5, 7, 9, 11-12, 14, 16, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin (Pub. No.: US 2020/0022083 A1) in view of Shah (Pub. No.: US 2024/0196444 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Jin teaches
The method according to claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above), wherein the sending of the SDT data comprises:
sending the SDT data of the network slice and a radio resource control (RRC) resume request message to the network device (Jin [0039]: the terminal device to transmit a small data packet; fig. 4: RRC resume message to the network device)…
Jin does not appear to explicitly teach based on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) time-frequency resource of a random access message included in the configuration information.
However, Shah, in the analogous art of SDT transmission and RRC messaging, teaches
based on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) time- frequency resource of a random access message included in the configuration information (Shah [0046]: time and frequency resources used for PUSCH; Shah [0005] and [0315]: random access messaging/transmissions).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Jin to incorporate the teachings of Shah and send messaging based on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) time-frequency resource of a random access message included in the configuration information. Doing so would help with coding mapping the signal to the appropriate resources, and transmission of particular transport channels (Shah [0046]).
Regarding claim 3, Jin modified by Shah teaches
The method according to claim 2 (the limitations of parent claim 2 as indicated above), wherein, when sending the RRC resume request message, the terminal device is in an RRC inactive state (Jin Fig. 4: S470 sending RRC resume message while terminal device is in an inactive state (S460)).
Regarding claim 5, Jin teaches
The method according to claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above),
Jin does not appear to explicitly teach wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of: a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold, or a PUSCH time-frequency resource of a random access message.
However, Shah, in the analogous art of SDT transmission and RRC messaging, teaches
wherein the configuration information further comprises at least one of: a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold, or a PUSCH time-frequency resource of a random access message (Shah [0046]: time and frequency resources used for PUSCH; Shah [0005] and [0315]: random access messaging/transmissions).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Jin to incorporate the teachings of Shah and have the configuration information comprises at least one of: a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold, or a PUSCH time-frequency resource of a random access message. Doing so would help with coding mapping the signal to the appropriate resources, and transmission of particular transport channels (Shah [0046]).
Regarding claim 7, Jin teaches
The method according to claim 6 (the limitations of parent claim 6 as indicated above), wherein the receiving of the SDT data comprises:
receiving the SDT data of the network slice and a radio resource control (RRC) resume request message from the terminal device, wherein the RRC resume request message is sent (Jin [0039]: receiving from the terminal device a small data packet; fig. 4: RRC resume message to the network device)…
Jin does not appear to explicitly teach based on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) time-frequency resource of a random access message included in the configuration information.
However, Shah, in the analogous art of SDT transmission and RRC messaging, teaches
based on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) time-frequency resource of a random access message included in the configuration information (Shah [0046]: time and frequency resources used for PUSCH; Shah [0005] and [0315]: random access messaging/transmissions).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Jin to incorporate the teachings of Shah and send messaging based on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) time-frequency resource of a random access message included in the configuration information. Doing so would help with coding mapping the signal to the appropriate resources, and transmission of particular transport channels (Shah [0046]).
Regarding claim 9, Jin teaches
The method according to claim 6 (the limitations of parent claim 6 as indicated above),
Jin does not appear to explicitly teach wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of: a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold, or a PUSCH time-frequency resource.
However, Shah, in the analogous art of SDT transmission and RRC messaging, teaches
wherein the configuration information further comprises at least one of: a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold, or a PUSCH time-frequency resource (Shah [0046]: time and frequency resources used for PUSCH; Shah [0005] and [0315]: random access messaging/transmissions).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Jin to incorporate the teachings of Shah and have the configuration information comprises at least one of: a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold, or a PUSCH time-frequency resource of a random access message. Doing so would help with coding mapping the signal to the appropriate resources, and transmission of particular transport channels (Shah [0046]).
Regarding claim 11, Jin teaches
The apparatus according to claim 10 (the limitations of parent claim 10 as indicated above), wherein the executable instructions further cause the communication apparatus to:
send the SDT data of the network slice and a radio resource control (RRC) resume request message to the network device (Jin [0039]: the terminal device to transmit a small data packet; fig. 4: RRC resume message to the network device)…
Jin does not appear to explicitly teach based on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) time-frequency resource of a random access message included in the configuration information.
However, Shah, in the analogous art of SDT transmission and RRC messaging, teaches
based on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) time- frequency resource of a random access message included in the configuration information (Shah [0046]: time and frequency resources used for PUSCH; Shah [0005] and [0315]: random access messaging/transmissions).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Jin to incorporate the teachings of Shah and send messaging based on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) time-frequency resource of a random access message included in the configuration information. Doing so would help with coding mapping the signal to the appropriate resources, and transmission of particular transport channels (Shah [0046]).
Regarding claim 12, Jin modified by Shah teaches
The apparatus according to claim 11 (the limitations of parent claim 11 as indicated above), wherein when sending the RRC resume request message, the apparatus is in an RRC inactive state (Jin Fig. 4: S470 sending RRC resume message while terminal device is in an inactive state (S460)).
Regarding claim 14, Jin teaches
The apparatus according to claim 10 (the limitations of parent claim 10 as indicated above),
Jin does not appear to explicitly teach wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of: a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold, or a PUSCH time-frequency resource of a random access message.
However, Shah, in the analogous art of SDT transmission and RRC messaging, teaches
wherein the configuration information further comprises at least one of: a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold, or a PUSCH time-frequency resource of a random access message (Shah [0046]: time and frequency resources used for PUSCH; Shah [0005] and [0315]: random access messaging/transmissions).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Jin to incorporate the teachings of Shah and have the configuration information comprises at least one of: a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold, or a PUSCH time-frequency resource of a random access message. Doing so would help with coding mapping the signal to the appropriate resources, and transmission of particular transport channels (Shah [0046]).
Regarding claim 16, Jin teaches
The apparatus according to claim 15 (the limitations of parent claim 15 as indicated above), wherein the executable instructions further cause the communication apparatus to:
receive the SDT data of the network slice and a radio resource control (RRC) resume request message from the terminal device, wherein the RRC resume request message is sent (Jin [0039]: receiving from the terminal device a small data packet; fig. 4: RRC resume message to the network device)…
Jin does not appear to explicitly teach based on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) time-frequency resource included in the configuration information.
However, Shah, in the analogous art of SDT transmission and RRC messaging, teaches
based on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) time-frequency resource included in the configuration information (Shah [0046]: time and frequency resources used for PUSCH; Shah [0005] and [0315]: random access messaging/transmissions).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Jin to incorporate the teachings of Shah and send messaging based on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) time-frequency resource of a random access message included in the configuration information. Doing so would help with coding mapping the signal to the appropriate resources, and transmission of particular transport channels (Shah [0046]).
Regarding claim 18, Jin teaches
The apparatus according to claim 15 (the limitations of parent claim 15 as indicated above),
Jin does not appear to explicitly teach wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of: a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold, or a PUSCH time-frequency resource.
However, Shah, in the analogous art of SDT transmission and RRC messaging, teaches
wherein the configuration information further comprises at least one of: a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold, or a PUSCH time-frequency resource (Shah [0046]: time and frequency resources used for PUSCH; Shah [0005] and [0315]: random access messaging/transmissions).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Jin to incorporate the teachings of Shah and have the configuration information comprises at least one of: a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold, or a PUSCH time-frequency resource of a random-access message. Doing so would help with coding mapping the signal to the appropriate resources, and transmission of particular transport channels (Shah [0046]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 19-22 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. The claims in part recite: “when an RSRP of at least one SSB corresponding to the SDT configuration information is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold, the method further comprises: …the SDT data of the network slice and a RRC resume request message to the network device based on a PUSCH time-frequency resource of a random access message included in the configuration information”. This limitation in combination with the other limitations recited by the independent claims differentiate from found prior art.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RACHEL E MARKS whose telephone number is (703)756-1309. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:30am-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles C Jiang can be reached at (571)270-7191. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/R.E.C./Examiner, Art Unit 2412
/CHARLES C JIANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2412
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