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
Applicant’s submission filed on 04/09/2026 has been entered. Applicant’s submission overcomes prior claim objections to claim 11. Therefore, the corresponding claim objections are withdrawn. Claims 1, 10, 12-16, and 20 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/09/2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
The information disclosure statement filed 04/09/2026 fails to comply with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2) because there is no filed copy for the non-patent literature document “THIRD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT, "Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Multiplexing and channel coding (Release 17)," 3GPP TS 38.212 V17.4.0 (December 2022).”. The filed copy of 3GPP TS 38.212 is of version V17.5.0 (2023-03) which is a different version than the document listed in the IDS. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered as to the merits. Applicant is advised that the date of any re-submission of any item of information contained in this information disclosure statement or the submission of any missing element(s) will be the date of submission for purposes of determining compliance with the requirements based on the time of filing the statement, including all certification requirements for statements under 37 CFR 1.97(e). See MPEP § 609.05(a).
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.
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 and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeon et al. (US 2024/0080833), hereinafter "Jeon", in view of Tao et al. (WO 2024/102473), hereinafter “Tao”, and further in view of Ryu (US 2013/0121225), hereinafter “Ryu”.
Regarding claims 1, 16, Jeon teaches:
A user equipment (UE) or a method (see Jeon, Fig. 15, item 1502, par. [0205], lines 1-2: FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a wireless device 1502), comprising:
a transceiver (see Jeon, Fig. 15, item 1520, par. [0208], lines 4-7: after being processed by the processing system 1518, the data to be sent to base station 1504 may be provided to a transmission processing system 1520 of the wireless device 1502, and see Jeon, Fig. 15, item 1522, par. [0209], lines 3-5: At the wireless device 1502, a reception processing system 1522 may receive the downlink transmission from base station 1504); and
a processor (see Jeon, Fig. 15, item 1520, par. [0208], lines 4-7: after being processed by the processing system 1518, the data to be sent to base station 1504 may be provided to a transmission processing system 1520 of the wireless device 1502), wherein the transceiver and the processor are configured to:
receive a System Information Block 1 (SIB1) (see Jeon, par. [0248], lines 1-13: A network or a base station may transmit (e.g., broadcast, multicast, and/or unicast) one or more message (e.g., system information block(s), RRC message(s), MAC CE(s), DCI(s) and/or any combination thereof) comprising one or more sdt-TBS values of a cell. For example, the one or more sdt-TBS values may indicate an amount of uplink data (e.g., associated with DTCH) that a wireless device transmits via an SDT (e.g., RA-based SDT and/or CG-based SDT) on the cell. The wireless device that receives the one or more messages may determine, based on the one or more sdt-TBS values, whether the wireless device initiates an SDT (e.g., RA-based SDT and/or CG-based SDT) on the cell, and see Jeon, par. [0144], lines 12-13: The RMSI may include a System Information Block Type 1 (SIB1)) indicating that a first SIB is not broadcast (see Jeon, par. [0240], lines 4-20: The wireless device may receive, from the base station via a cell, a message (e.g., broadcast, multicast, and/or unicast message) indicating whether the transmission of the uplink data on the cell is available in the Non-RRC_CONNECTED state. For example, a message (e.g., broadcast, multicast, and/or unicast message) may indicate whether an RA-based SDT (e.g., EDT) on the cell is available in the Non-RRC_CONNECTED state. For example, a message (e.g., broadcast, multicast, and/or unicast message) may indicate whether a CG-based SDT (e.g., PUR) on the cell is available in the Non-RRC_CONNECTED state. For example, a message (e.g., broadcast, multicast, and/or unicast message) may indicate whether an SDT (e.g., RA-based SDT and/or CG-based SDT) on the cell is available in the Non-RRC_CONNECTED state. For example, the message may be a broadcast (multicast) system information block(s) of a cell; in this case, messages may be received via unicast and the messages may include SIBs (corresponding to SIBs indicating not broadcasting)),
receive a Downlink Control Information (DCI) (see Jeon, par. [0192], lines 5-10: The UE may receive the downlink control signaling in a payload transmitted by the base station on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The payload transmitted on the PDCCH may be referred to as downlink control information (DCI)) indicating an activation of a first parameter set (see Jeon, par. [0253], lines 1-15: A base station (or a network) may transmit (e.g., broadcast, multicast, and/or unicast) one or more messages (e.g., system information block(s), RRC message(s), MAC CE(s), DCI(s) and/or any combination thereof) comprising one or more sdt-TBS values of a cell. The one or more sdt-TBS values may be per an RA type of an RA procedure of the cell. For example, one or more RA types of the RA procedure may be available on the cell. The one or more RA types may comprise a four-step contention-based RA procedure (e.g., FIG. 13A), a two-step contention-free RA procedure (e.g., FIG. 13A and/or FIG. 13B), and/or a two-step RA procedure (e.g., FIG. 13C). The one or more sdt-TBS values may be a common parameters applied to one or more RA types of the RA procedure configured on the cell, and see Jeon, par. [0273], lines 4-10: A wireless device may perform a CG-based SDT via the one or more uplink radio resources of the (pre-)configured grant(s). The (pre-)configured grant(s) in FIG. 18B may require an additional activation message (e.g., DCI, MAC CE, and/or RRC) that activates (and/or initiates) the one or more uplink radio resources (and/or (pre-)configured grant(s)); in this case, configuration for random access procedures may be activated via DCI), wherein the DCI is scrambled by a Radio Network Temporary Identification (RNTI) other than a system information-RNTI (SI-RNTI), a Group- RNTI (G-RNTI), a Power Saving-RNTI (PS-RNTI), and a Cell-RNTI (C-RNTI) (see Jeon, par. [0315]: The wireless device may receive (and/or detect), via the PDCCH, the DCI (e.g., that schedules one or more subsequent transmissions of the SDT) during the time window. The DCI may comprise CRC parity bits scrambled with the SDT-RNTI and par. [0319]: The wireless device may stop monitoring, using one or more RNTIs, the PDCCH in response to an expiry of the time window and/or the (re-)started time window. The one or more RNTIs may comprise a C-RNTI of the wireless device and/or RNTI(s) (e.g., CS-RNTI, PUR-RNTI, PUR C-RNTI, SDT-RNTI, and/or the like) assigned for the SDT; in this case, the reference teaches different RNTI may be used for scrambling DCI), and wherein the DCI is transmitted on a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) (see Jeon, par. [0192], lines 5-10: The UE may receive the downlink control signaling in a payload transmitted by the base station on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The payload transmitted on the PDCCH may be referred to as downlink control information (DCI)),
transmit a request for the first SIB (see Jeon, par. [0171], lines 7-14: The UE may initiate the random access procedure to request uplink resources (e.g., for uplink transmission of an SR when there is no PUCCH resource available) and/or acquire uplink timing (e.g., when uplink synchronization status is non-synchronized). The UE may initiate the random access procedure to request one or more system information blocks (SIBs) (e.g., other system information such as SIB2, SIB3, and/or the like), and see Jeon, par. [0254], lines 6-13: The wireless device may initiate the four-step RA procedure for the RA-based SDT. The wireless device may determine to transmit a preamble (e.g., Msg1 1311 in FIG. 13A) via PRACH resource(s). The wireless device may determine the preamble and/or the PRACH resource(s) to indicate, to a base station, a request of a transmission of uplink data (e.g., associated with DTCH) via Msg3 (e.g., Msg 3 1313 in FIG. 13B); in this case, the wireless device sends a request and the request may be for SIBs as part of initiating a random access procedure),
receive the SIB (see Jeon, par. [0248], lines 1-13: A network or a base station may transmit (e.g., broadcast, multicast, and/or unicast) one or more message (e.g., system information block(s), RRC message(s), MAC CE(s), DCI(s) and/or any combination thereof) comprising one or more sdt-TBS values of a cell. For example, the one or more sdt-TBS values may indicate an amount of uplink data (e.g., associated with DTCH) that a wireless device transmits via an SDT (e.g., RA-based SDT and/or CG-based SDT) on the cell. The wireless device that receives the one or more messages may determine, based on the one or more sdt-TBS values, whether the wireless device initiates an SDT (e.g., RA-based SDT and/or CG-based SDT) on the cell; in this case, the wireless device receives a message which may be an SIB), and wherein at least one of: a downlink reception time or the uplink transmission time is dependent on the first parameter set (see Jeon, par. [0173], lines 14-20: The UE may determine, based on the one or more RACH parameters, a time-frequency resource and/or an uplink transmit power for transmission of the Msg 1 1311 and/or the Msg3 1313. Based on the one or more RACH parameters, the UE may determine a reception timing and a downlink channel for receiving the Msg 2 1312 and the Msg 4 1314, and see Jeon, par. [0265], lines 1-5: the one or more configuration parameters may comprise a time offset. For example, the time offset may be for uplink grant(s) of an SDT (e.g., CG-based SDT) and/or the one or more uplink radio resources indicated by the uplink grant(s); in this case, a time offset for uplink grants corresponds to an uplink transmission time and a reception timing corresponds to a downlink reception time), and wherein the UE only receives a paging message within the downlink reception time (see Jeon, par. [0105], lines 2-12: In RRC idle 604, the UE may not have an RRC connection with the base station. While in RRC idle 604, the UE may be in a sleep state for the majority of the time (e.g., to conserve battery power). The UE may wake up periodically (e.g., once in every discontinuous reception cycle) to monitor for paging messages from the RAN. Mobility of the UE may be managed by the UE through a procedure known as cell reselection. The RRC state may transition from RRC idle 604 to RRC connected 602 through a connection establishment procedure 612, which may involve a random access procedure, and see Jeon, par. [0173], lines 14-20: The UE may determine, based on the one or more RACH parameters, a time-frequency resource and/or an uplink transmit power for transmission of the Msg 1 1311 and/or the Msg3 1313. Based on the one or more RACH parameters, the UE may determine a reception timing and a downlink channel for receiving the Msg 2 1312 and the Msg 4 1314, and see Jeon, par. [0173], lines 1-4: The configuration message 1310 may be transmitted, for example, using one or more RRC messages. The one or more RRC messages may indicate one or more random access channel (RACH) parameters to the UE; in this case, a paging message may be monitored (i.e. received) during periods, including reception timing as part of configuration for random access procedures).
However, Jeon does not teach:
determine that the UE does not store a valid first SIB,
in response to receiving the first parameter set outside an uplink transmission time, transmit a request on a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) or in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message occupying a Common Control Channel (CCCH) in a random access procedure,
in response to receiving the first parameter set within the uplink transmission time, transmit the request in an RRC message occupying a Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH), and
in response to not receiving the first parameter set, transmit the request in the RRC message occupying the DCCH, and
wherein the UE is in an RRC connected state, and wherein a T311 timer is not running,
Tao, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
in response to receiving the first parameter set outside an uplink transmission time, transmit a request on a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) or in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message occupying a Common Control Channel (CCCH) in a random access procedure (see Tao, par. [0019]: a message 2, related to the RAR, when the BS sends to the UE a response with various configuration factors, including the timing advance (TA) for timing adjustment between the uplink and downlink transmission, and also the first UL grant discussed above; the message 3, which is transmitted using the first UL grant resources, and may carry a certain RRC message or data, and see par. [0063], lines 12-15: based on the first UL grant, the UE 102 generates a MAC PDU (i.e., Msg3), which includes the MAC subheader for the CCCH message, the CCCH message, the MAC subheader of the TA report, and the TA report, and transmits 516 the MAC PDU (e.g., Msg3) to the NE 404, and see Tao, par. [0070], lines 1-5: the RRC procedure 501 is an RRC connection establishment procedure and the UE 102 (e.g., the RRC sublayer 214) operates in an idle state (e.g., RRC_IDLE) to initiate the RRC connection establishment procedure 501. In such cases, the CCCH message 508 includes an RRC setup request (e.g., RRCSetupRequest message); in this case, based on receiving a message 2 with configuration (corresponding to a first parameter set) as part of the reception during the RRC process (corresponding to outside an uplink transmission time), a message 3 is sent including a CCCH message as part of the random access procedure),
in response to receiving the first parameter set within the uplink transmission time, transmit the request in an RRC message occupying a Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH) (see Tao, par. [0011]: When the UE in the RRCJNACTIVE state or the RRCJDLE state with a suspended radio connection initiates an RRC connection resume procedure for UL (uplink) data transmission or periodic RAN notification area (RNA) update, the UE starts a timer (e.g., T319 or T300). If the UE successfully completes the RRC connection resume procedure with the BS, the LIE stops the timer, and see par. [0070]: The NE 404 transmits a CCCH message (not to be confused with the CCCH message 508) including an RRC setup message (e.g., RRCSetup message) to the UE 102 (e.g., the RRC sublayer 214) in response to the RRC setup request message. In response, the UE 102 (e.g., the RRC sublayer 214) transmits a dedicated control channel (DCCH) message including an RRC setup complete message (e.g., RRCSetupComplete message) to the NE 404; in this case, based on receiving an RRC setup message (corresponding to the first parameter set) and completing the RRC within the timer (corresponding to within the uplink transmission time), a DCCH message including an RRC setup complete message is sent), and
in response to not receiving the first parameter set, transmit the request in the RRC message occupying the DCCH (see Tao, Fig. 7B, par. [0079], lines 5-12: At step 720, the UE determines whether the UE operates in an idle state or inactive state or operates in a connected state with a failure timer (e.g., timer T311 ) running. If the UE determines 720 that the UE operates in the idle state or inactive state or operates in the connected state with the failure timer (e.g., T311 ) running, the flow proceeds to step 705, which was discussed above and thus, it is not repeated here. Otherwise (e.g., the UE determines 720 that the UE operates in a connected state without a failure timer (e.g., T311 ) running), the UE sends 704 the TA report initiation indication to the MAC layer. In some embodiments, the UE sends 704 a DCCH message (e.g., RRCReconfigurationComplete message) to the MAC layer, and see pars. [0020-0021]: the UE initiates an RRC procedure and performs a TA reporting during the RRC procedure. The UE initiates the TA reporting before transmitting the CCCH message of the RRC procedure. For example, the RRC procedure is an RRC connection resume procedure, and the CCCH message is an RRC resume request message as described in 3GPP TS 38.331. In response to initiating transmission of a TA report, the UE initiates the random access procedure discussed above; in this case, a DCCH RRC message may be sent as part of a timing advance report initiation indication, which may be part of the random access process. This may be done in advance of the random access procedure (i.e. the first parameter set is not received))
wherein a T311 timer is not running (see Tao, Fig. 7B, par. [0079], lines 5-12: At step 720, the UE determines whether the UE operates in an idle state or inactive state or operates in a connected state with a failure timer (e.g., timer T311 ) running. If the UE determines 720 that the UE operates in the idle state or inactive state or operates in the connected state with the failure timer (e.g., T311 ) running, the flow proceeds to step 705, which was discussed above and thus, it is not repeated here. Otherwise (e.g., the UE determines 720 that the UE operates in a connected state without a failure timer (e.g., T311 ) running), the UE sends 704 the TA report initiation indication to the MAC layer. In some embodiments, the UE sends 704 a DCCH message (e.g., RRCReconfigurationComplete message) to the MAC layer; in this case, one possible determination based on the cited figure and description is that the UE operates in a connected state without a T311 running, corresponding to the claimed limitation which recites “wherein a T311 timer is not running”),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the first signal transmission of Jeon with the conditional use of channels based on parameters and times of Tao with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of saving resources and power (see Tao, par. [0024]).
However, the combination of Jeon in view of Tao does not teach:
determine that the UE does not store a valid first SIB,
wherein the UE is in an RRC connected state,
Ryu, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
determine that the UE does not store a valid first SIB (see Ryu, Fig. 4, par. [0093], lines 1-5: In Step S455, the UE can receive a subsequent paging message which does not include the EAB change notification. In this case, the UE does not need to wait for a subsequent SIB, since the EAB information stored by the UE would be most up-to-dated; in this case, the UE does not wait for (i.e. does not store) a SIB),
wherein the UE is in an RRC connected state (see Ryu, Figs. 3 and 4, par. [0048]: After the RRC connection request message (S360) is received by the network, an RRC connection can be successfully established and the UE enters an RRC connected mode, and see pars. [0089-0091]: In Step S410, the UE receives the EAB information via a system information block (SIB). The SIB used in S410 can be newly-designed SIB of which transmission period is greater than any of convention SIBs. Upon receiving the SIB of S410, the UE may enter idle-state (S415). The operation of idle-state and active-state can be performed in a periodic manner, and the UE may periodically wake up out of the idle-state to receive a paging from the network (S420). After waking up (i.e., entering active-state), the UE receives a paging message including EAB change notification (S425). The EAB change notification can be included in the paging message only when the EAB information has been changed/updated. After the UE receives the EAB change notification in the paging message, the UE waits to receive a subsequent SIB (e.g., the newly-designed SIB) to obtain changed/updated EAB information via such subsequent SIB (S430). Thereafter, the UE receives the subsequent SIB of S435, and the UE obtains and applies the newly-updated EAB information of the subsequent SIB in Steps S435-S440; in this case, the UE establishes an RRC connection and is in an RRC connected mode (i.e. state) when SIB messages are received),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the UE or method of the combination of Jeon in view of Tao with the UE being in an RRC connected state and not storing a SIB of Ryu with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of improving performance of providing EAB information in a random access process (see Ryu, pars. [0083-0087]).
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Jeon in view of Tao, and further in view of Ryu, teaches the UE. Jeon further teaches:
wherein a time while a first timer is running is a time other than the uplink transmission time (see Jeon, par. [0469], lines 17-22: The wireless device may start or restart logicalChannelSR-DelayTimer. For example, logicalChannelSR-DelayTimer may be running, e.g., while the time window (or a timer) in FIG. 22A is running, and/or while the at least one of time windows in FIG. 22B is running; in this case, the delay timer corresponds to a time different than the uplink transmission time); the first timer runs after the first parameter set is configured (see Jeon, par. [0452], lines 1-6: the wireless device may receive the second one or more parameters for use in the RRC_CONNECTED state. For example, logicalChannelSR-DelayTimer may be configured for the SDT and/or one or more subsequent transmission/reception and/or configured for a logical channel, and see Jeon, par. [0469], lines 17-22: The wireless device may start or restart logicalChannelSR-DelayTimer. For example, logicalChannelSR-DelayTimer may be running, e.g., while the time window (or a timer) in FIG. 22A is running, and/or while the at least one of time windows in FIG. 22B is running; in this case, the delay timer is configured to then later be started (i.e. running));
Jeon does not teach, but Tao teaches:
when the first timer is running, the request is transmitted on the PRACH or in the RRC message occupying the CCCH in the random access procedure (see Tao, par. [0079], Figs. 7A and 7B, lines 5-9: At step 720, the UE determines whether the UE operates in an idle state or inactive state or operates in a connected state with a failure timer (e.g., timer T311 ) running. If the UE determines 720 that the UE operates in the idle state or inactive state or operates in the connected state with the failure timer (e.g., T311 ) running, the flow proceeds to step 705, and see Tao, par. [0078], lines 5-9: At step 705, the UE sends a CCCH message and the TA report initiation indication to the MAC layer to trigger the MAC layer to select a random access preambles group and account for a compounded size of the CCCH message, a MAC subheader for the CCCH message, the TA report, and a MAC subheader for the TA report; in this case, based on a timer running, a signal is transmitted via CCCH), and when the first timer is not running, the request is transmitted in the RRC message occupying the DCCH (see Tao, par. [0079], lines 5-14: At step 720, the UE determines whether the UE operates in an idle state or inactive state or operates in a connected state with a failure timer (e.g., timer T311 ) running. If the UE determines 720 that the UE operates in the idle state or inactive state or operates in the connected state with the failure timer (e.g., T311 ) running, the flow proceeds to step 705, which was discussed above and thus, it is not repeated here. Otherwise (e.g., the UE determines 720 that the UE operates in a connected state without a failure timer (e.g., T311 ) running), the UE sends 704 the TA report initiation indication to the MAC layer. In some embodiments, the UE sends 704 a DCCH message (e.g., RRCReconfigurationComplete message) to the MAC layer; in this case, based on a timer not running, a signal is transmitted via DCCH).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the first signal transmission of Jeon with the conditional use of channels based on a timer of Tao with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of saving resources and power (see Tao, par. [0024]).
Claims 10-11 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeon in view of Tao, and further in view of Ryu, as applied to claims 1 and 15-16 above, and further in view of Wu et al. (US 2024/0056948), hereinafter “Wu”.
Regarding claims 10, 20, the combination of Jeon in view of Tao, and further in view of Ryu, teaches the UE or method.
However, the combination of Jeon in view of Tao, and further in view of Ryu, does not teach:
wherein the RNTI is a network energy saving-RNTI (NES-RNTI).
Wu, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein the RNTI is a network energy saving-RNTI (NES-RNTI) (see Wu, par. [0213], lines 5-12: To distinguish from the unicast PDCCH and other group common PDCCHs, the group common PDCCH for bearing the base station energy saving information should use a newly defined RNTI to scramble its cyclic redundancy check (CRC). Optionally, the group common PDCCH is addressed to a fixed or preconfigured specific RNTI value. For example, this new RNTI may be referred to as a network energy saving RNTI (NES-RNTI)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the RNTI of the combination of Jeon in view of Tao, and further in view of Ryu, with the RNTI being NES-RNTI of Wu with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of reducing power consumption of base stations (see Wu, par. [0127]).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Jeon in view of Tao, and further in view of Ryu, teaches the UE.
However, the combination of Jeon in view of Tao, and further in view of Ryu, does not teach:
wherein the RNTI is an NES-RNTI.
Wu, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein the RNTI is an NES-RNTI (see Wu, par. [0213], lines 5-12: To distinguish from the unicast PDCCH and other group common PDCCHs, the group common PDCCH for bearing the base station energy saving information should use a newly defined RNTI to scramble its cyclic redundancy check (CRC). Optionally, the group common PDCCH is addressed to a fixed or preconfigured specific RNTI value. For example, this new RNTI may be referred to as a network energy saving RNTI (NES-RNTI)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the RNTI of the combination of Jeon in view of Tao, and further in view of Ryu, with the RNTI being NES-RNTI of Wu with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of reducing power consumption of base stations (see Wu, par. [0127]).
Claims 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeon in view of Tao, and further in view of Ryu, as applied to claims 1 and 15-16 above, and further in view of Lunden et al. (US 10,512,102), hereinafter “Lunden”.
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Jeon in view of Tao, and further in view of Ryu, teaches the UE.
However, the combination of Jeon in view of Tao, and further in view of Ryu, does not teach:
wherein the UE only monitors an SPS (Semi-persistent Scheduling) occasion within the downlink reception time; the UE only performs a transmission on a CG (Configured Grant) occasion within the uplink transmission time; and the UE only transmits an SR within the uplink transmission time.
Lunden, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein the UE only monitors an SPS (Semi-persistent Scheduling) occasion within the downlink reception time (see Lunden, col. 4, lines 52-67: DL control channel monitoring by the UE may be started, when the UE uses the UL SPS grant, and only if the UE has transmitted data in the UL. For example, if the UE just transmits control signaling such as an empty Buffer Status Report (BSR) or Power Headroom Report (PHR), then the UE does not necessarily start the DL control channel monitoring. In some embodiments, transmitting of an empty BSR may stop the activity and may start the DRX sleep time. Certain embodiments may configure a UE with a new parameter by using Radio Resource Control (RRC) signalling. The new parameter may indicate a duration for which the UE should stay awake (i.e., monitoring DL control channel) after the UE uses an UL SPS grant. The duration can correspond to a duration of time for which the UE should stay awake to monitor a DL control channel, for example; in this case, monitoring is performed based on SPS (corresponding to monitoring an SPS occasion) and a duration for monitoring a DL control channel); the UE only performs a transmission on a CG (Configured Grant) occasion within the uplink transmission time (see Lunden, col. 4, lines 34-39: a UE that is configured by an eNB with both (1) a semi-persistent grant in UL, and (2) DRX. When the UE has communication to transmit in UL, the UE uses an UL SPS resource/grant in a subframe. The UE uses the semi-persistent grant to transmit in UL, regardless of whether the UE is in active time or not, and see Lunden, col. 2, lines 21-23: an Uplink (UL) Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS) grant may have a periodicity of 1 Transmission Time Interval (TTI); in this case, transmission on a grant may be configured and performed based on a periodicity (corresponding to within the uplink transmission time)); and the UE only transmits an SR within the uplink transmission time (see Lunden, col. 1, lines 33-35: In case of dynamic UL scheduling, when the UE needs to send data in the uplink, it will send a scheduling request (SR) to an evolved Node B (eNB), and see Lunden, col. 2, lines 21-23: an Uplink (UL) Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS) grant may have a periodicity of 1 Transmission Time Interval (TTI); in this case, a SR may be transmitted and scheduling may be performed with a periodicity (corresponding to within the uplink transmission time)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the UE of the combination of Jeon in view of Tao, and further in view of Ryu, with the monitoring of SRS and transmission conditions of Lunden with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of maximizing the benefits of DRX and SPS for reducing latency and lowering UE energy consumption (see Lunden, col. 4, lines 24-33).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Jeon in view of Tao, and further in view of Ryu, teaches the UE.
However, the combination of Jeon in view of Tao, and further in view of Ryu, does not teach:
wherein whether the UE monitors an SPS occasion is unrelated to whether the UE is in an active time of a Discontinuous Reception (DRX).
Lunden, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein whether the UE monitors an SPS occasion is unrelated to whether the UE is in an active time of a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) (see Lunden, col. 5, lines 46-51: A time period indicated by the DRX inactivity timer may correspond to the time period for which the UE monitors the DL control channel Whether the DRX inactivity timer is started or not, at the time when the UE transmits data using the UL SPS grant, can also be configurable, and see Lunden, col. 7, lines 26-28: the DL monitoring by the UE does not need to wait for the next DRX ON duration and may be started, when the UE uses the UL SPS grant; in this case, monitoring is performed regardless of DRX being on or not (corresponding to in an active time or not)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the UE of the combination of Jeon in view of Tao, and further in view of Ryu, with the monitoring of SRS independent of DRX of Lunden with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of maximizing the benefits of DRX and SPS for reducing latency and lowering UE energy consumption (see Lunden, col. 4, lines 24-33).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Jeon in view of Tao, and further in view of Ryu, teaches the UE.
However, the combination of Jeon in view of Tao, and further in view of Ryu, does not teach:
wherein whether the UE performs a transmission on a CG occasion is unrelated to whether the UE is in an active time of a DRX.
Lunden, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein whether the UE performs a transmission on a CG occasion is unrelated to whether the UE is in an active time of a DRX (see Lunden, col. 4, lines 34-39: a UE that is configured by an eNB with both (1) a semi-persistent grant in UL, and (2) DRX. When the UE has communication to transmit in UL, the UE uses an UL SPS resource/grant in a subframe. The UE uses the semi-persistent grant to transmit in UL, regardless of whether the UE is in active time or not; in this case, transmission is performed using configured grants regardless of the UE being in active time or not (corresponding to active time of a DRX)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the UE of the combination of Jeon in view of Tao, and further in view of Ryu, with the transmission on a grant independent of DRX of Lunden with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of maximizing the benefits of DRX and SPS for reducing latency and lowering UE energy consumption (see Lunden, col. 4, lines 24-33).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 04/09/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues “Tao does not disclose that the UE, in that branch, transmits a request for the first SIB, much less that the request is selectively transmitted on PRACH/CCCH/DCCH depending on whether the same first parameter set is received outside an uplink transmission time, within an uplink transmission time, or not received” (see Applicant’s remarks, pages 8-9).
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., the UE, in the branch in which the UE is in RRC_CONNECTED without T311 running, transmits a request for the first SIB) 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). The UE being in an RRC connected state and a T311 timer is not running is claimed as part of the receiving the first SIB step in the claim. Therefore, the UE being in an RRC connected state and a T311 timer is not running are interpreted as further limitations of the receiving the first SIB step.
Examiner also points to Tao in par. [0011]: When the UE in the RRCJNACTIVE state or the RRCJDLE state with a suspended radio connection initiates an RRC connection resume procedure for UL (uplink) data transmission or periodic RAN notification area (RNA) update, the UE starts a timer (e.g., T319 or T300). If the UE successfully completes the RRC connection resume procedure with the BS, the LIE stops the timer, par. [0019]: a message 2, related to the RAR, when the BS sends to the UE a response with various configuration factors, including the timing advance (TA) for timing adjustment between the uplink and downlink transmission, and also the first UL grant discussed above; the message 3, which is transmitted using the first UL grant resources, and may carry a certain RRC message or data, pars. [0020-0021]: the UE initiates an RRC procedure and performs a TA reporting during the RRC procedure. The UE initiates the TA reporting before transmitting the CCCH message of the RRC procedure. For example, the RRC procedure is an RRC connection resume procedure, and the CCCH message is an RRC resume request message as described in 3GPP TS 38.331. In response to initiating transmission of a TA report, the UE initiates the random access procedure discussed above, par. [0063]: based on the first UL grant, the UE 102 generates a MAC PDU (i.e., Msg3), which includes the MAC subheader for the CCCH message, the CCCH message, the MAC subheader of the TA report, and the TA report, and transmits 516 the MAC PDU (e.g., Msg3) to the NE 404, par. [0070]: The NE 404 transmits a CCCH message (not to be confused with the CCCH message 508) including an RRC setup message (e.g., RRCSetup message) to the UE 102 (e.g., the RRC sublayer 214) in response to the RRC setup request message. In response, the UE 102 (e.g., the RRC sublayer 214) transmits a dedicated control channel (DCCH) message including an RRC setup complete message (e.g., RRCSetupComplete message) to the NE 404, and par. [0079]: At step 720, the UE determines whether the UE operates in an idle state or inactive state or operates in a connected state with a failure timer (e.g., timer T311 ) running. If the UE determines 720 that the UE operates in the idle state or inactive state or operates in the connected state with the failure timer (e.g., T311 ) running, the flow proceeds to step 705, which was discussed above and thus, it is not repeated here. Otherwise (e.g., the UE determines 720 that the UE operates in a connected state without a failure timer (e.g., T311 ) running), the UE sends 704 the TA report initiation indication to the MAC layer. In some embodiments, the UE sends 704 a DCCH message (e.g., RRCReconfigurationComplete message) to the MAC layer.
These sections teach the claimed request is selectively transmitted on PRACH/CCCH/DCCH depending on whether the parameters are received outside an uplink transmission time, within an uplink transmission time, or not received.
Applicant argues ”The Office Action does not identify one coherent parameter set that both is activated by the claimed DCI and controls the first-SIB request branch” (see Applicant’s remarks, page 9).
Examiner respectfully disagrees and points to Jeon in par. [0253]: A base station (or a network) may transmit (e.g., broadcast, multicast, and/or unicast) one or more messages (e.g., system information block(s), RRC message(s), MAC CE(s), DCI(s) and/or any combination thereof) comprising one or more sdt-TBS values of a cell. The one or more sdt-TBS values may be per an RA type of an RA procedure of the cell. For example, one or more RA types of the RA procedure may be available on the cell. The one or more RA types may comprise a four-step contention-based RA procedure (e.g., FIG. 13A), a two-step contention-free RA procedure (e.g., FIG. 13A and/or FIG. 13B), and/or a two-step RA procedure (e.g., FIG. 13C). The one or more sdt-TBS values may be a common parameters applied to one or more RA types of the RA procedure configured on the cell and par. [0273]: A wireless device may perform a CG-based SDT via the one or more uplink radio resources of the (pre-)configured grant(s). The (pre-)configured grant(s) in FIG. 18B may require an additional activation message (e.g., DCI, MAC CE, and/or RRC) that activates (and/or initiates) the one or more uplink radio resources (and/or (pre-)configured grant(s)).
Examiner also points to Tao in par. [0011]: When the UE in the RRCJNACTIVE state or the RRCJDLE state with a suspended radio connection initiates an RRC connection resume procedure for UL (uplink) data transmission or periodic RAN notification area (RNA) update, the UE starts a timer (e.g., T319 or T300). If the UE successfully completes the RRC connection resume procedure with the BS, the LIE stops the timer, par. [0019]: a message 2, related to the RAR, when the BS sends to the UE a response with various configuration factors, including the timing advance (TA) for timing adjustment between the uplink and downlink transmission, and also the first UL grant discussed above; the message 3, which is transmitted using the first UL grant resources, and may carry a certain RRC message or data, par. [0063]: based on the first UL grant, the UE 102 generates a MAC PDU (i.e., Msg3), which includes the MAC subheader for the CCCH message, the CCCH message, the MAC subheader of the TA report, and the TA report, and transmits 516 the MAC PDU (e.g., Msg3) to the NE 404, par. [0070]: The NE 404 transmits a CCCH message (not to be confused with the CCCH message 508) including an RRC setup message (e.g., RRCSetup message) to the UE 102 (e.g., the RRC sublayer 214) in response to the RRC setup request message. In response, the UE 102 (e.g., the RRC sublayer 214) transmits a dedicated control channel (DCCH) message including an RRC setup complete message (e.g., RRCSetupComplete message) to the NE 404.
The sections of Jeon teach DCI relating to random access procedure including parameters to apply (i.e. activation of a first parameter set). The sections of Tao teach transmitting a request on PRACH/CCH/DCCH depending on reception of signals related to random access procedure. The combination of references teaches the general relation of parameters regarding random access which corresponds to the claimed first parameter set under its broadest reasonable interpretation.
Applicant argues “The Office Action therefore still does not identify a disclosure in which the relied-upon RNTI scrambles the same DCI that activates the claimed first parameter set” (see Applicant’s remarks, pages 9-10).
Examiner respectfully disagrees and points to Jeon in par. [0315]: The wireless device may receive (and/or detect), via the PDCCH, the DCI (e.g., that schedules one or more subsequent transmissions of the SDT) during the time window. The DCI may comprise CRC parity bits scrambled with the SDT-RNTI and par. [0319]: The wireless device may stop monitoring, using one or more RNTIs, the PDCCH in response to an expiry of the time window and/or the (re-)started time window. The one or more RNTIs may comprise a C-RNTI of the wireless device and/or RNTI(s) (e.g., CS-RNTI, PUR-RNTI, PUR C-RNTI, SDT-RNTI, and/or the like) assigned for the SDT.
These sections teach RNTI different than SI-RNTI, G-RNTI, PS-RNTI, and C-RNTI, as claimed, may be used for scrambling DCI transmitted on PDCCH.
Applicant argues “The cited para [0048] of Ryu also does not cure the separate “RRC connected state” limitation in the claimed context” (see Applicant’s remarks, pages 10-11).
Examiner respectfully disagrees and points to Ryu in Figs. 3 and 4, par. [0048]: After the RRC connection request message (S360) is received by the network, an RRC connection can be successfully established and the UE enters an RRC connected mode and pars. [0089-0091]: In Step S410, the UE receives the EAB information via a system information block (SIB). The SIB used in S410 can be newly-designed SIB of which transmission period is greater than any of convention SIBs. Upon receiving the SIB of S410, the UE may enter idle-state (S415). The operation of idle-state and active-state can be performed in a periodic manner, and the UE may periodically wake up out of the idle-state to receive a paging from the network (S420). After waking up (i.e., entering active-state), the UE receives a paging message including EAB change notification (S425). The EAB change notification can be included in the paging message only when the EAB information has been changed/updated. After the UE receives the EAB change notification in the paging message, the UE waits to receive a subsequent SIB (e.g., the newly-designed SIB) to obtain changed/updated EAB information via such subsequent SIB (S430). Thereafter, the UE receives the subsequent SIB of S435, and the UE obtains and applies the newly-updated EAB information of the subsequent SIB in Steps S435-S440.
These sections teach receiving an SIB when the UE is in an RRC connected mode, corresponding to the claimed “receive the first SIB, wherein the UE is in an RRC connected state”.
Applicant argues “the cited combination still clearly fails to teach or suggest…determining that the UE does not store a valid first SIB” (see Applicant’s remarks, pages 10-11).
Examiner respectfully disagrees and points to Ryu in Fig. 4 and par. [0093]: In Step S455, the UE can receive a subsequent paging message which does not include the EAB change notification. In this case, the UE does not need to wait for a subsequent SIB, since the EAB information stored by the UE would be most up-to-dated
These sections teach the UE not waiting for (and therefore not storing) a subsequent SIB. This corresponds to determining that the UE does not store a valid first SIB as claimed. Ryu teaching the UE having stored SIB information already does not discredit the teaching of not storing a subsequent SIB (i.e. not storing a valid first SIB).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Aiba et al. (US 11,147,101) teaches a UE for performing a random access procedure based on whether PRACH resources are configured for particular resources.
Chai et al. (US 12,395,983) teaches an uplink transmission resource determining method including receiving system information for determining a parameter used for uplink transmission.
Jang et al. (US 12,457,635) teaches a method and device for supporting random access for low-capability terminal in wireless communication system.
Kim et al. (US 10,925,086) teaches an efficient system information request method and apparatus of a terminal in a next generation mobile communication system.
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 CALEB J BALLOWE whose telephone number is (571)270-0410. The examiner can normally be reached MON-FRI 7:30-5.
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/C.J.B./Examiner, Art Unit 2419
/Nishant Divecha/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2419
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