Detailed Action
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This is a final action for application number 18/617,515 in response to an amendment filed on 08/12/2026; the original application filed on 03/24/2024.
Claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been considered below.
Claims 1, 18 and 20 are independent claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ arguments in the instant Amendment, filed on 08/12/2026, with respect to limitations listed below, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments: “The applicant argues that Lee in view of Christoffersson do not teach transmit, when the UE does not have data to transmit, an uplink message via the uplink resources based at least in part on traffic characteristics of the UE or a type of an application operating at the UE, the uplink message comprising null data”
The Examiner disagrees with the Applicants. The Examiner respectfully submits that Christoffersson et al. does disclose ‘transmit, when the UE does not have data to transmit, an uplink message via the uplink resources based at least in part on traffic characteristics of the UE or a type of an application operating at the UE, the uplink message comprising null data’ (See Paragraph [0116] – [0133]) “ In response to the detection of step 1000, the UE transmits the end marker to the network node 410, the step of detecting a condition comprises detecting that an uplink buffer in the user equipment is empty and that no more uplink data is expected for a time period, the end markers include additional information, which is information in addition to information indicating the user equipment has no data for transmission, the additional information indicates estimated traffic characteristics or QoS bearer information)”.
The Examiner respectfully suggests that the claim be further amended and details in the specification be incorporated to distinguish the claimed invention over prior art of record. Should the Applicant desire an interview to further clarify the claim interpretation/rejections, please contact the Examiner at 571-270-1921 to schedule an interview.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 8 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 2020/0244406 A1) in view of Christoffersson et al. (WO 2022/238838 A1).
Regarding claims 1, a user equipment (UE), [Figure 5, Communication apparatus], comprising: one or more memories storing processor-executable code, [Figure 5, Ref # 130], and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories, [Figure 5, Ref # 110], and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:
receive control signaling configuring the UE to skip uplink transmission when the UE does not have data to transmit, [the UE receives a radio resource control (RRC) signaling configuring that the UE skips an UL transmission if there is no data available for transmission (S901), According to the RRC signaling, for a certain time period, the UE may skip UL transmission if there is no data available for transmission, (Lee et al., Paragraph 105)],
receive a grant for uplink resources, [The UE receives an UL grant for retransmission for a hybrid automatic repeat and request (HARQ) process when a HARQ buffer of the HARQ process is empty (S903), (Lee et al., Paragraph 106)],
Lee et al. fails to explicitly teach transmit, when the UE does not have data to transmit, an uplink message via the uplink resources based at least in part on traffic characteristics of the UE or a type of an application operating at the UE, the uplink message comprising null data,
Christoffersson et al. teaches that the UE transmits the end marker to the network node, the end markers include additional information, which is information in addition to information indicating the user equipment has no data for transmission. the additional information indicates estimated traffic characteristics or QoS bearer information, (Christoffersson et al., Paragraphs 116-133),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to modify Lee et al. by transmitting, when the UE does not have data to transmit, an uplink message via the uplink resources based at least in part on traffic characteristics of the UE or a type of an application operating at the UE, the uplink message comprising null data, (Christoffersson et al., Paragraphs 116-133), in order to enable small data transmission in RRC_IN ACTIVE state, (Christoffersson et al., Paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 2, the UE of claim 1, wherein the application operating at the UE discards one or more packets based at least in part on a latency requirement of the application, [even if new data becomes available for transmission, the UE discards the UL grant for adaptive retransmission, (Lee et al., Paragraph 110)].
Regarding claim 4, the UE of claim 1, wherein, to transmit the uplink message, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:
transmit the uplink message based at least in part on a traffic type of traffic associated with a flow of the UE, wherein the traffic characteristics comprise the traffic type, [adaptive retransmission is not working well in case the UE skips UL transmission. Intention of adaptive retransmission is to adapt the transmission characteristics and resources depending on the channel status and scheduling situation, (Lee et al., Paragraph 97)].
Regarding claim 5, the UE of claim 4, wherein the traffic type is based at least in part on header information of the traffic, [the end marker is encoded with an otherwise unused eLCID in a R/LCID or R/L/LCID MAC Sub-header, (Christoffersson et al., Paragraph 58)].
Regarding claim 8, the UE of claim 1, wherein, transmits the uplink message, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: transmit the uplink message based at least in part on a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) recovery procedure at the UE, [The UE performs PDCP re-establishment implicitly, i.e., without explicit indication for PDCP re-establishment, when the UE initiates SDT procedure, (Christoffersson et al., Paragraph 12)].
Regarding claim 18, a method for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving control signaling configuring the UE to skip uplink transmission when the UE does not have data to transmit, [the UE receives a radio resource control (RRC) signaling configuring that the UE skips an UL transmission if there is no data available for transmission (S901), According to the RRC signaling, for a certain time period, the UE may skip UL transmission if there is no data available for transmission, (Lee et al., Paragraph 105)],
receiving a grant for uplink resources, [The UE receives an UL grant for retransmission for a hybrid automatic repeat and request (HARQ) process when a HARQ buffer of the HARQ process is empty (S903), (Lee et al., Paragraph 106)],
Lee et al. fails to explicitly teach transmitting, when the UE does not have data to transmit, an uplink message via the uplink resources based at least in part on traffic characteristics of the UE or a type of an application operating at the UE, the uplink message comprising null data,
Christoffersson et al. teaches that the UE transmits the end marker to the network node, the end markers includes additional information, which is information in addition to information indicating the user equipment has no data for transmission. The additional information indicates estimated traffic characteristics or QoS bearer information, (Christoffersson et al., Paragraphs 116-133),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to modify Lee et al. by transmitting, when the UE does not have data to transmit, an uplink message via the uplink resources based at least in part on traffic characteristics of the UE or a type of an application operating at the UE, the uplink message comprising null data, (Christoffersson et al., Paragraphs 116-133), in order to enable small data transmission in RRC_IN ACTIVE state, (Christoffersson et al., Paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 19, the method of claim 18, wherein transmitting the uplink message comprises: transmitting the uplink message based at least in part on a traffic type of traffic associated with a flow of the UE, wherein the traffic characteristics comprise the traffic type, [adaptive retransmission is not working well in case the UE skips UL transmission. Intention of adaptive retransmission is to adapt the transmission characteristics and resources depending on the channel status and scheduling situation, (Lee et al., Paragraph 97)].
Regarding claim 20, an apparatus for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE), comprising: means for receiving control signaling configuring the UE to skip uplink transmission when the UE does not have data to transmit, [the UE receives a radio resource control (RRC) signaling configuring that the UE skips an UL transmission if there is no data available for transmission (S901), According to the RRC signaling, for a certain time period, the UE may skip UL transmission if there is no data available for transmission, (Lee et al., Paragraph 105)],
means for receiving a grant for uplink resources, [The UE receives an UL grant for retransmission for a hybrid automatic repeat and request (HARQ) process when a HARQ buffer of the HARQ process is empty (S903), (Lee et al., Paragraph 106)],
Lee et al. fails to explicitly teach means for transmitting, when the UE does not have data to transmit, an uplink message via the uplink resources based at least in part on traffic characteristics of the UE or a type of an application operating at the UE, the uplink message comprising null data,
Christoffersson et al. teaches that the UE transmits the end marker to the network node, the end markers include additional information, which is information in addition to information indicating the user equipment has no data for transmission. The additional information indicates estimated traffic characteristics or QoS bearer information, (Christoffersson et al., Paragraphs 116-133),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to modify Lee et al. by transmitting, when the UE does not have data to transmit, an uplink message via the uplink resources based at least in part on traffic characteristics of the UE or a type of an application operating at the UE, the uplink message comprising null data, (Christoffersson et al., Paragraphs 116-133), in order to enable small data transmission in RRC_IN ACTIVE state, (Christoffersson et al., Paragraph 3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 6, 7, 9-17 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.
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 Shukri Taha whose telephone number is 571-270-1921. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30am-5pm Mon-Fri.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph Avellino, can be reached on 571-272-3905.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR.
Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/SHUKRI TAHA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
