DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to the amendment and arguments filed on December 18, 2025.
Claims 1-20, 24, 47 and 49 are pending.
Claims 1-20, 24, 47 and 49 are rejected.
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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20, 24, 47 and 49 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. The rejection has been revised and set forth below according to the amended claims (See Office Action).
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., Applicants arguments see page 8 with respect to adapting monitoring beams which are associated with a configuration grant (CG) configuration for small data transmission in a low activity state, e.g., in the radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, the RRC idle state, etc. in specification at 0033-0034 and 0051) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Applicant particularly argues with respect to prior art reference Tsai. Examiner notes Paragraph [0398-0422] discloses various embodiments in which a UE may be configured provided with resource configuration for the UE to used for failure detection (e.g., for the UE in RRC_INACTIVE), that is Tsai discloses different beams to be used in an RRC_Inactive power saving state and others for a non-power saving state.
Furthermore, newly cited prior art reference Islam (US 2019/0053321) discloses beam measurement for beam-swept wakeup signals which discloses different beam configurations and sets of beams used for a power saving sleep state of a DRX mode and beams to be used in a non power saving mode See Figure 14-16; Paragraph [0006, 0029-0038 and 0148-0185 and 0212].
The rejection has been revised and set forth below according to the amended claims (See Office Action).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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, 8-11, 14, 15, 17, 20 and 47 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2022/0210798, hereinafter Tsai, in view of Islam et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2019/0053321, hereinafter Islam.
Regarding Claim 1, Tsai discloses a method implemented by a first terminal device (Abstract; Figure 1, 10 and 13), the method comprising:
obtaining information about a first set of beams associated with configured resources for data transmission from a network node (Paragraph [0042-0049 and 0103-0104] Beam (SSB/TRS/CSI-RS/assistance RS/TCI state): The term “beam” or “SSB/TRS/CSI-RS/assistance RS/TCI state” may be replaced by spatial filter. For example, when UE reports a preferred gNB TX beam, UE is essentially selecting a spatial filter used by gNB. The term “beam information” may be used to provide information about which beam/spatial filter is being used/selected. In one example, individual reference signals are transmitted by applying individual beams (spatial filters). Thus, the beam or the beam information may be represented by reference signal resource index(es). The beam may be DL and/or UL beam. The beam may be Tx beam and/or Rx beam. The beam may be UE beam and/or NW beam. The beam may be referred to reference signal (e.g., SSB/TRS/CSI-RS/assistance RS/TCI state), and/or TCI state. The beam may be indicated via a reference signal (e.g., SSB/TRS/CSI-RS/assistance RS/TCI state), and/or TCI state); SSB parameters: The UE may be configured with one or more of the following configurations for SSB; That is the UE is provided with information about beams associated with configured grant based small data transmission from a network node);
obtaining a signal level threshold from the network node (Paragraph [0005-0006 and 0085-0093] CG configuration to configure the CG resources to the UE 110. Alternatively, the CG configuration may be provided in RRC reconfiguration while the UE 110 is in RRC_CONNECTED. The CG configuration may include, for example, but not limited to, the following information: CG periodicity TBS number for the implicit release of the CG resources CG Timer retransmission timer number of HARQ process reserved for CG in SDT RSRP threshold for SSB selection and association between SSB and CG resources; TA related parameters (e.g., TA timer); that is the UE receives RSRP threshold information from a network node);
and determining a second set of beams from the first set of beams based on at least the signal level threshold (Figure 10; Paragraph [0258-0273] Beam selection of beams from the first set of beams and based on the received RSRP signal threshold from the network node).
Tsai discloses obtaining information and signal level thresholds of beams and beam selection but fails to disclose wherein the first terminal device uses the second set of beams when in any one or more power saving modes and uses the first set of beams when not in any or the one or more power saving modes.
However, Islam more specifically teaches wherein the first terminal device uses the second set of beams when in any one or more power saving modes and uses the first set of beams when not in any or the one or more power saving modes (Figure 14-16; Paragraph [0006] For example, a base station may transmit a set of signals (e.g., reference signals, synchronization signals, etc.) using a beam sweeping configuration. In such cases, the UE may be configured by the base station to monitor the beams carrying the set of signals. Based on receiving the signals, the UE may optionally indicate a different set of beams to be used by the base station to transmit a wakeup signal. For instance, the UE may, through monitoring the set of beams, find that the quality of signals has not degraded, and the UE may refrain from transmitting an indication of a different set of beams. Alternatively, the quality of the set of signals sent on the set of beams may have been degraded, and the UE may select another set of beams for the transmission of the wakeup signal. In any case, the base station may transmit the wakeup signal on at least two beams of the configured set or of the set selected by the UE. The wakeup signal sent on either of the beams may be used by the UE to efficiently wake from a sleep state of the C-DRX mode; Paragraph [0029-0038, 0148-0185 and 0212] DRX power saving mode in which a first transmit beam of a first set of transmit beams is used and second set of beams used when not in a power saving mode; That is the terminal utilizes different sets of beams according to being in a power saving mode; UE 115 may select the second set of transmit beams based at least in part on the received first set of signals, the second set of transmit beams comprising two or more transmit beams, and the two or more transmit beams being different from the first set of transmit beams).
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 teachings of Tsai with the teachings of Islam. The methods allows the UE to improve message throughput between the UE and the base station. The wakeup signal saves decoding resources at the UE and reduce power consumption in comparison to control channel mechanisms. The flexibility of enhanced component carriers (eCC) symbol duration and subcarrier spacing allow for the use of eCC across multiple spectrums (Islam Abstract; Paragraph [0002-0008]).
Regarding Claim 2, Tsai in view of Islam disclose the method of Claim 1. Tsai in view of Islam further disclose wherein the configured resources comprise a configured grant, CG, configuration for small data transmission, SDT (Tsai Figure 1; Paragraph [0083-0096] CG-Based SDT).
Regarding Claim 3, Tsai in view of Islam disclose the method of Claim 1. Tsai in view of Islam further disclose wherein the information comprises beam indices, beam configuration patterns and/or frequency ranges (Tsai Paragraph [0270] Beam indexes; Paragraph [0254] Beam configuration; Paragraph [0005-0006, 0258-0273 and 0603] RSRP signal quality levels and thresholds).
Regarding Claim 8, Tsai in view of Islam disclose the method of Claim 1. Tsai in view of Islam further disclose wherein the second set of beams is determined by: comparing a signal level of each beam in the first set of beams to the signal level threshold; and including a beam having a signal level above the signal level threshold in the second set of beams (Paragraph [0005-0006, 0258-0273 and 0603] RSRP signal quality levels and thresholds).
Regarding Claim 9, Tsai in view of Islam disclose the method of Claim 8. Tsai in view of Islam further disclose wherein the signal level includes a signal strength or a signal quality (Tsai Paragraph [0258-0273 and 0603] RSRP signal quality levels).
Regarding Claim 10, Tsai in view of Islam disclose the method of Claim 8. Tsai in view of Islam further disclose wherein the signal level is measured by the first terminal device periodically (Tsai Paragraph [0248-0256] Periodicity configured by the network where UE may perform beam measurements and assess beams periodically).
Regarding Claim 11, Tsai in view of Islam disclose the method of Claim 1. Tsai in view of Islam further disclose wherein the second set of beams is determined only when the first terminal device is operating in any of the one or more power saving modes (Tsai Paragraph [0054-0055] RRC INACTIVE state providing a power saving mode to reduce power consumption and performing small data transmissions; Islam Paragraph [0029-0038 and 0148-0185 and 0212] DRX power saving mode in which a first transmit beam of a first set of transmit beams is used and second set of beams used when not in a power saving mode; That is the terminal utilizes different sets of beams according to being in a power saving mode; UE 115 may select the second set of transmit beams based at least in part on the received first set of signals, the second set of transmit beams comprising two or more transmit beams, and the two or more transmit beams being different from the first set of transmit beams).
Regarding Claim 14, Tsai in view of Islam disclose the method of Claim 1. Tsai in view of Islam further disclose wherein the second set of beams is determined periodically (Tsai Paragraph [0248-0256] Periodicity configured by the network where UE may perform beam measurements and assess beams periodically).
Regarding Claim 15, Tsai in view of Islam disclose the method of Claim 1. Tsai in view of Islam further disclose wherein the second set of beams is determined when the first terminal device is configured for the data transmission (Tsai Figure 1; Paragraph [0103-0114 and 0136] Beam selection during small data transmission).
Regarding Claim 17, Tsai in view of Islam discloses the method of Claim 1. Tsai in view of Islam further discloses wherein the second set of beams is determined when signal levels of one or more beams of the first set of beams have changed by a predetermined margin (Tsai Paragraph [0005] first reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold and a second RSRP threshold. A SDT procedure is initiated based on a configured grant (CG) resource in response to a RSRP of a downlink (DL) pathloss reference being higher than the first RSRP threshold. In response to initiating the SDT procedure based on the CG resource, the method further includes the following. A synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel block (SSB) from a SSB set in a case that the SSB has a RSRP above the second RSRP threshold; Paragraph [0496 and 0509] A TA is valid may be based on a RSRP change volume. For example, the UE may consider the TA is not valid if the RSRP change volume is higher than a threshold; In one embodiment, if a change of RSRP (i.e., RSRP change volume) is not more than a RSRP threshold, UE may consider that the CG resource/configuration is not valid. In one embodiment, the RSRP threshold used for comparing with the change of RSRP is indicated by a configuration for SDT from NW).
Regarding Claim 20, Tsai in view of Islam disclose the method of Claim 1. Tsai in view of Islam further disclose wherein the second set of beams is a subset of the first set of beams (Tsai Paragraph [0142] In some embodiments, a UE may be configured with a beam resource set/list (e.g., SSB set/list (e.g., indicated by sdt-SSB-subset)) which is used for beam measurement for CG-based SDT. The UE may perform beam measurement before/during SDT via CG. The UE may select a beam/SSB (from the SSB set) based on the SSB measurement; Paragraph [0137-0138] A SSB set or one or more SSBs/SSB indexes may be configured from NW for one UE via a RRC release message or via system information. In one alternative, a SSB set may be a SSB subset (e.g., configured by a SDT-SSB-subset configuration). The SSB set may be indicated by NW for SSB to CG PUSCH mapping within one CG configuration).
Regarding Claim 47, Tsai discloses a first terminal device, comprising: a processor and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor and adapted to store instructions which, when executed by the processor (Abstract; Figure 1, 10 and 13), cause the first terminal device to:
obtain information about a first set of beams associated with configured resources for data transmission from a network node (Paragraph [0042-0049 and 0103-0104] Beam (SSB/TRS/CSI-RS/assistance RS/TCI state): The term “beam” or “SSB/TRS/CSI-RS/assistance RS/TCI state” may be replaced by spatial filter. For example, when UE reports a preferred gNB TX beam, UE is essentially selecting a spatial filter used by gNB. The term “beam information” may be used to provide information about which beam/spatial filter is being used/selected. In one example, individual reference signals are transmitted by applying individual beams (spatial filters). Thus, the beam or the beam information may be represented by reference signal resource index(es). The beam may be DL and/or UL beam. The beam may be Tx beam and/or Rx beam. The beam may be UE beam and/or NW beam. The beam may be referred to reference signal (e.g., SSB/TRS/CSI-RS/assistance RS/TCI state), and/or TCI state. The beam may be indicated via a reference signal (e.g., SSB/TRS/CSI-RS/assistance RS/TCI state), and/or TCI state); SSB parameters: The UE may be configured with one or more of the following configurations for SSB; That is the UE is provided with information about beams associated with configured grant based small data transmission from a network node);
obtain a signal level threshold from the network node (Paragraph [0005-0006 and 0085-0093] CG configuration to configure the CG resources to the UE 110. Alternatively, the CG configuration may be provided in RRC reconfiguration while the UE 110 is in RRC_CONNECTED. The CG configuration may include, for example, but not limited to, the following information: CG periodicity TBS number for the implicit release of the CG resources CG Timer retransmission timer number of HARQ process reserved for CG in SDT RSRP threshold for SSB selection and association between SSB and CG resources; TA related parameters (e.g., TA timer); that is the UE receives RSRP threshold information from a network node);
determine a second set of beams from the first set of beams based on at least the signal level threshold (Figure 10; Paragraph [0258-0273] Beam selection of beams from the first set of beams and based on the received RSRP signal threshold from the network node).
Tsai discloses obtaining information and signal level thresholds of beams and beam selection but fails to disclose wherein the first terminal device use the second set of beams when in any of one or more power saving modes; and use the first set of beams when not in any of the one or more power saving modes.
However, Islam more specifically teaches use the second set of beams when in any of one or more power saving modes; and use the first set of beams when not in any of the one or more power saving modes (Figure 14-16; Paragraph [0006] For example, a base station may transmit a set of signals (e.g., reference signals, synchronization signals, etc.) using a beam sweeping configuration. In such cases, the UE may be configured by the base station to monitor the beams carrying the set of signals. Based on receiving the signals, the UE may optionally indicate a different set of beams to be used by the base station to transmit a wakeup signal. For instance, the UE may, through monitoring the set of beams, find that the quality of signals has not degraded, and the UE may refrain from transmitting an indication of a different set of beams. Alternatively, the quality of the set of signals sent on the set of beams may have been degraded, and the UE may select another set of beams for the transmission of the wakeup signal. In any case, the base station may transmit the wakeup signal on at least two beams of the configured set or of the set selected by the UE. The wakeup signal sent on either of the beams may be used by the UE to efficiently wake from a sleep state of the C-DRX mode; Paragraph [0029-0038 and 0148-0185 and 0212] DRX power saving mode in which a first transmit beam of a first set of transmit beams is used and second set of beams used when not in a power saving mode; That is the terminal utilizes different sets of beams according to being in a power saving mode; UE 115 may select the second set of transmit beams based at least in part on the received first set of signals, the second set of transmit beams comprising two or more transmit beams, and the two or more transmit beams being different from the first set of transmit beams).
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 teachings of Tsai with the teachings of Islam. The methods allows the UE to improve message throughput between the UE and the base station. The wakeup signal saves decoding resources at the UE and reduce power consumption in comparison to control channel mechanisms. The flexibility of enhanced component carriers (eCC) symbol duration and subcarrier spacing allow for the use of eCC across multiple spectrums (Islam Abstract; Paragraph [0002-0008]).
Claims 4-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai in view of Islam as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ou et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0112559, hereinafter Ou.
Regarding Claim 4, Tsai in view of Islam disclose the method of Claim 1. Tsai in view of Islam fail to disclose performing time alignment, TA, validation using beams in the second set of beams; and transmitting data using configured resources associated with the beams in the second set of beams in the case that the TA is valid.
However, Ou teaches performing time alignment, TA, validation using beams in the second set of beams; and transmitting data using configured resources associated with the beams in the second set of beams in the case that the TA is valid (Paragraph [0286-0301] NW may transmit a signaling including a TA (e.g. an absolute TA value or a relative TA value) to the UE. In response to the reception of the TA, the UE could update its maintained TA based on the obtained TA. After the TA is obtained, the UE may validate the maintained TA from time to time, e.g. every once in a while. If the validation is passed, the maintained TA is considered as valid. If the comparison is passed (e.g. the difference is not over the threshold), it may mean that the TA is considered as valid, e.g. for the cell(s) or beam(s) associated with the measurement result(s). Alternatively, it may mean that the TA is considered as valid for the corresponding beam(s). The UE performs transmission using PUR on the PUR occasion).
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 teachings of Tsai in view of Islam with the teachings of Ou. Ou provides a solution which improves transmission efficiency and reduces power consumption in support new radio light devices (Ou Abstract; Paragraph [0002-0005 and 0264]).
Regarding Claim 5, Tsai in view of Islam and Ou discloses the method of Claim 4. Tsai in view of Islam and Ou further disclose wherein the TA validation is based on one or more of a beam level reference signal receiving power, RSRP, change, a cell level RSRP change, and a TA timer associated with the TA (Ou Paragraph [0286-0301] RSRP, RSRP cell level change; Paragraph [0079-0086] TA Timer).
Regarding Claim 6, Tsai in view of Islam and Ou discloses the method of Claim 4. Tsai in view of Islam and Ou further disclose wherein in the case that the TA is invalid, the data is not transmitted using the configured resources associated with the beams in the second set of beams (Ou Paragraph [0121 and 0282-0286] The UE may perform a PUR transmission on the specific beam. If the comparison is failed (e.g. the difference is over the threshold(s)), the TA could be considered as not valid on the specific beam, and PUR transmission on the specific beam may be prohibited due to invalid TA. TA validation on different beam may be evaluated separately).
Regarding Claim 7, Tsai in view of Islam and Ou disclose the method of Claim 4. Tsai in view of Islam and Ou further disclose in the case that the TA is invalid, performing the TA validation using beams in the first set of beams (Ou Paragraph [0079-0082 and 0286] TA validation criterion “Serving cell changes” is implicitly always enabled, which means that TA is considered invalid when the UE initiates RA procedure in a different cell than where TA was last validated. Configuration for TA validation criteria is provided in dedicated RRC signaling. It should be possible to disable each or all of the optional TA validation criteria (i.e., TA timer, (N)RSRP change) via RRC signaling. UE keeps the PUR configuration while TA is considered invalid, but PUR cannot be used until eNB validates the existing TA/provides a new TA).
Claims 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai in view of Islam as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Ratasuk et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2022/0225258, hereinafter Ratasuk.
Regarding Claim 12, Tsai in view of Islam disclose the method of Claim 11. Tsai in view of Islam fails to disclose in the case that the first terminal device is not operating in any of the one or more power saving modes, performing the TA validation using beams in the first set of beams.
However, Ratasuk teaches in the case that the first terminal device is not operating in any of the one or more power saving modes, performing the TA validation using beams in the first set of beams (Paragraph [0046-0063] TA validation required when the terminal device is not operating in a power saving mode).
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 teachings of Tsai in view of Islam with the teachings of Ratasuk. The configured PUR resources can be used by UE in idle mode to transmit data, without requiring the UE to establish connection with the cell before transmitting data. The power savings and decrease in signaling overhead can be achieved, since the UE can transmit the report through the PUR resources while in idle mode, without needing to establish connection to the cell. The use of extended CP allows change or adjustment to timing advance (TA) validation configuration for the PUR subframe, even for larger cells, to improve PUR resource usage and to reduce the TA validation processing overhead at the UE, since the UE uses the PUR resources for uplink transmission. The lower latency for the UE and higher system efficiency for the network are provided. The proactive reduction of the TA value allows for movement of the UE closer to the evolved node B (eNB) without causing interference resulting from use of the old TA value. The reduction of the TA value right after PUR configuration allows the UE to move closer to the eNB without causing interference (Ratasuk Abstract; Paragraph [0003-0013 and 0037]).
Regarding Claim 13, Tsai in view of Islam disclose the method of Claim 11. Tsai in view of Islam fails to disclose wherein conditions in which the first terminal device is in one or more power saving mode include low mobility, not-at-cell edge, or both low mobility and not-at-cell edge.
However, Ratasuk teaches wherein conditions in which the first terminal device is in one of the one or more power saving mode include low mobility, not-at-cell edge, or both low mobility and not-at-cell edge (Paragraph [0063 and 0089] UE with low mobility status).
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 teachings of Tsai in view of Islam with the teachings of Ratasuk. The configured PUR resources can be used by UE in idle mode to transmit data, without requiring the UE to establish connection with the cell before transmitting data. The power savings and decrease in signaling overhead can be achieved, since the UE can transmit the report through the PUR resources while in idle mode, without needing to establish connection to the cell. The use of extended CP allows change or adjustment to timing advance (TA) validation configuration for the PUR subframe, even for larger cells, to improve PUR resource usage and to reduce the TA validation processing overhead at the UE, since the UE uses the PUR resources for uplink transmission. The lower latency for the UE and higher system efficiency for the network are provided. The proactive reduction of the TA value allows for movement of the UE closer to the evolved node B (eNB) without causing interference resulting from use of the old TA value. The reduction of the TA value right after PUR configuration allows the UE to move closer to the eNB without causing interference (Ratasuk Abstract; Paragraph [0003-0013 and 0037]).
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai in view of Islam as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Barbu et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2024/0073841, hereinafter Barbu.
Regarding Claim 16, Tsai in view of Islam disclose the method of Claim 1. Tsai in view of Islam briefly disclose validation but fails to disclose wherein the second set of beams is determined only when the first terminal device is triggered to perform the TA validation.
However, Barbu teaches wherein the second set of beams is determined only when the first terminal device is triggered to perform the TA validation (Paragraph [0114] Validation criteria in which the beams are selected only after the UE has determined a valid TA in which it can use the configured grant).
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 teachings of Tsai in view of Islam with the teachings of Barbu. The method enables utilizing the timing alignment (TA) in scheduling uplink transmission in an effective manner. The use of TA by user equipments (UEs) may allow for time alignment between uplink transmissions such that a base station receives all uplink transmissions during a same time period, even though the propagation delay associated with various UEs may differ (Barbu Abstract; Paragraph [0001-0002 and 0110-0115]).
Claims 18 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai in view of Islam as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Lei et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2023/0262631, hereinafter Lei.
Regarding Claim 18, Tsai in view of Islam discloses the method of Claim 1. Tsai in view of Islam discloses a power saving mode and criteria for determining second set of beams but fails to explicitly disclose wherein the second set of beams is determined when the first terminal device meets criteria for entering any type of power saving mode or a predetermined type of power saving mode.
However, Lei more specifically teaches wherein the second set of beams is determined when the first terminal device meets criteria for entering any type of power saving mode or a predetermined type of power saving mode (Paragraph [0027-0028, 0110-0112 and 0134-0145] Configuration grant configuration and criteria for RRC inactive/idle and UE power saving considerations including measurement criteria for beam selection).
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 teachings of Tsai in view of Islam with the teachings of Lei. The entity utilizes a scheduling entity to enhance timing advance (TA) validation for pre-configured uplink resources (PUR) and configured grant small data transmission (CG-SDT) procedures in an efficient manner (Lei Abstract; Paragraph [0002-0009 and 0027-0028]).
Regarding Claim 19, Tsai in view of Islam disclose the method of Claim 1. Tsai in view of Islam disclose a power saving mode and criteria for determining second set of beams but fails to explicitly disclose wherein the second set of beams is determined when the first terminal device meets criteria for exiting from any type of power saving mode or a predetermined type of power saving mode.
However, Lei more specifically teaches wherein the second set of beams is determined when the first terminal device meets criteria for exiting from any type of power saving mode or a predetermined type of power saving mode (Paragraph [0134-0152] CG-SDT configuration with criteria and wake-up signaling and transition to connected state).
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 teachings of Tsai in view of Islam with the teachings of Lei. The entity utilizes a scheduling entity to enhance timing advance (TA) validation for pre-configured uplink resources (PUR) and configured grant small data transmission (CG-SDT) procedures in an efficient manner (Lei Abstract; Paragraph [0002-0009 and 0027-0028]).
Claims 24 and 49 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai in view of Ratasuk.
Regarding Claim 24, Tsai discloses a method implemented by a second terminal device, (Abstract; Figure 1, 10 and 13), the method comprising:
obtaining information about a first set of beams associated with first configured resources for data transmission from a network node (Paragraph [0042-0049 and 0103-0104] Beam (SSB/TRS/CSI-RS/assistance RS/TCI state): The term “beam” or “SSB/TRS/CSI-RS/assistance RS/TCI state” may be replaced by spatial filter. For example, when UE reports a preferred gNB TX beam, UE is essentially selecting a spatial filter used by gNB. The term “beam information” may be used to provide information about which beam/spatial filter is being used/selected. In one example, individual reference signals are transmitted by applying individual beams (spatial filters). Thus, the beam or the beam information may be represented by reference signal resource index(es). The beam may be DL and/or UL beam. The beam may be Tx beam and/or Rx beam. The beam may be UE beam and/or NW beam. The beam may be referred to reference signal (e.g., SSB/TRS/CSI-RS/assistance RS/TCI state), and/or TCI state. The beam may be indicated via a reference signal (e.g., SSB/TRS/CSI-RS/assistance RS/TCI state), and/or TCI state); SSB parameters: The UE may be configured with one or more of the following configurations for SSB; That is the UE is provided with information about beams associated with configured grant based small data transmission from a network node);
obtaining information about a second set of beams associated with second configured resources for the data transmission from the network node (Figure 10l Paragraph [0005-0006 and 0085-0093] CG configuration to configure the CG resources to the UE 110. Alternatively, the CG configuration may be provided in RRC reconfiguration while the UE 110 is in RRC_CONNECTED. The CG configuration may include, for example, but not limited to, the following information: CG periodicity TBS number for the implicit release of the CG resources CG Timer retransmission timer number of HARQ process reserved for CG in SDT RSRP threshold for SSB selection and association between SSB and CG resources; TA related parameters (e.g., TA timer); that is the UE receives RSRP threshold information from a network node; Figure 10; Paragraph [0258-0273] Beam selection of beams from the first set of beams and based on the received RSRP signal threshold from the network node));
using beams in the first set of beams in response to determination that the second terminal device is not in the power saving mode, and using beams in the second set of beams in response to determination that the second terminal device is in the power saving mode (Paragraph [0398-0422] In one embodiment, the set/list of (periodic) beams may be used for failure detection (e.g., for the UE in RRC_INACTIVE))
and transmitting data using first configured resources associated with the first set of beams and using second configured resources associated with the second set of beams in the case that the TA is valid (Paragraph [0220 and 0407-] UE may trigger/initiate a SDT procedure when/after determining that at least one CG configuration/resource is valid. Noted that the criterions for the determination of CG validity are depicted in this disclosure below).
Tsai discloses a power saving mode in an RRC Inactive state and discloses time alignment validation but fails to disclose determining whether the second terminal device is in a power saving mode and performing time alignment, TA, validation using beams in the first set of beams in response to determination that the second terminal device is not in the power saving mode, and using beams in the second set of beams in response to determination that the second terminal device is in the power saving mode.
However, Ratasuk teaches determining whether the second terminal device is in a power saving mode; performing time alignment, TA, validation using beams in the first set of beams in response to determination that the second terminal device is not in the power saving mode, and using beams in the second set of beams in response to determination that the second terminal device is in the power saving mode ( Paragraph [0046-0063 and 0089] TA validation required when the terminal device is not operating in a power saving mode where UEs with low mobility status are not required to perform TA validation).
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 teachings of Tsai with the teachings of Ratasuk. The configured PUR resources can be used by UE in idle mode to transmit data, without requiring the UE to establish connection with the cell before transmitting data. The power savings and decrease in signaling overhead can be achieved, since the UE can transmit the report through the PUR resources while in idle mode, without needing to establish connection to the cell. The use of extended CP allows change or adjustment to timing advance (TA) validation configuration for the PUR subframe, even for larger cells, to improve PUR resource usage and to reduce the TA validation processing overhead at the UE, since the UE uses the PUR resources for uplink transmission. The lower latency for the UE and higher system efficiency for the network are provided. The proactive reduction of the TA value allows for movement of the UE closer to the evolved node B (eNB) without causing interference resulting from use of the old TA value. The reduction of the TA value right after PUR configuration allows the UE to move closer to the eNB without causing interference (Ratasuk Abstract; Paragraph [0003-0013 and 0037]).
Regarding Claim 49, Tsai in view of Ratasuk disclose the method of Claim 24. Tsai in view of Ratasuk further disclose a second terminal device, comprising: a processor; and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor and adapted to store instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the second terminal device to perform operations of the method claim 24 (Tsai Abstract; Figure 1, 10 and 13).
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.
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IVAN O. LATORRE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2409
/IVAN O LATORRE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2409