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 . Claims 1, 3-7, 11-13, 15-16, 18, 20-23 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (US# 2022/0303946 hereinafter referred to as Kim).
RE Claim 13, Kim discloses a method implemented in a user equipment (UE) for communicating data with a core network (CN) via a radio access network (RAN) (See Kim FIG 12), the method comprising:
performing, by the UE and in an inactive state of a protocol associated with controlling radio resources, an early data communication with the CN (See Kim [0005]-[0006], [0009], [0014] – UE operating in inactive/idle state; protocol to control resources by transmitting using MT-EDT);
determining, by the UE and while the UE continues to operate in the inactive state (See Kim [0232]-[0239] – determining RRC state to operate in), whether non-early downlink (DL) data is available for communicating between the UE and the CN, including:
receiving, from the RAN and via a non-early data radio bearer, a DL data packet (See Kim [0234]-[0239] – receiving third message which can include DL data), or
receiving, from the RAN and via a signaling radio bearer, a message indicating that non-early DL data is available See Kim [0232]-[0239] – third message indicates availability of non-EDT DL data (i.e. indicating to transition to connected state)); and
when the non-early data is available, transitioning to a connected state of the protocol See Kim [0232]-[0239] – UE transitioning to connected state).
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.
Claims 1, 3-7, 12, 18, 20-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US# 2022/0303946 hereinafter referred to as Kim) in view of Dai et al. (US# 2024/0373497 hereinafter referred to as Dai).
RE Claim 1, Kim discloses a method implemented in a base station operating in a radio access network (RAN), for facilitating data communication between a UE and a core network (CN) (See Kim FIG 12), the method comprising:
determining, by the base station, that downlink (DL) data received from the CN is available for transmitting to the UE (See Kim [0006], [0009], [0014] – determining DL data for transmitting to the UE) operating in an inactive state of a protocol for controlling radio resources (See Kim [0005]-[0006], [0009], [0014] – UE operating in inactive/idle state; protocol to control resources by transmitting using MT-EDT or not);
determining, by the base station, whether the UE can perform early-data communication of second data (See Kim [0178] – determine to use MT-EDT based on UE capability); and
selecting, by the base station, a procedure for communicating the DL data based at least in part on (i) whether the UE can perform early-data communication (See Kim [0178] – determine to use MT-EDT based on UE capability) and (ii) whether the DL data qualifies for early data transmission (EDT) to the UE (See Kim [0231]-[0232] – based on size of DL data determines in part whether the data qualifies for EDT).
Kim does not specifically disclose
determining, by the base station, whether the UE is performing early-data communication of second data; and
selecting, by the base station, a procedure for communicating the DL data based at least in part on whether the UE is performing early-data communication.
However, Dai teaches of
determining, by the base station, whether the UE is performing early-data communication of second data (See Dai [0016], [0091] – base station determining if ongoing SDT communication for the UE); and
selecting, by the base station, a procedure for communicating the DL data based at least in part on whether the UE is performing early-data communication (See Dai [0016], [0091] – base station determining a procedure for communicating the DL data based at least in part on determining if ongoing SDT communication for the UE).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the EDT communication system, as disclosed in Kim, comprising determining, by the base station, whether the UE is performing early-data communication of second data; and
selecting, by the base station, a procedure for communicating the DL data based at least in part on whether the UE is performing early-data communication, as taught in Dai. One is motivated as such in order to improve efficiency while lowering latency and overhead (See Dai Background; Summary).
RE Claim 3¸ Kim, modified by Dai, discloses a method, as set forth in claim 1 above, wherein the selecting includes:
When the DL data does not qualify for EDT, selecting a paging procedure, including transmitting to the UE a paging message (See Dai [0073] – for non-SDT DL data, sending paging message to UE).
RE Claim 4¸ Kim, modified by Dai, discloses a method, as set forth in claim 1 above, wherein the selecting includes:
when the DL data does not qualify for EDT, selecting a procedure for resuming a suspended radio connection between the UE and the RAN, including transmitting to the UE a command to resume the radio connection, including omitting a paging procedure (See Dai [0091] - In the case that there is an ongoing SDT procedure for the UE, in step 310, the receiving BS may transmit the RRC resume message to indicate the UE to enter into the RRC_CONNECTED state for transmission of the downlink non-SDT data and/or the downlink non-SDT signaling without performing a RAN paging procedure).
RE Claim 5¸ Kim, modified by Dai, discloses a method, as set forth in claim 1 above, wherein the selecting includes:
when the DL data does not qualify for EDT, selecting a procedure for transmitting non-EDT data over a suspended radio connection (See Kim [0234] – deciding RRC state is RRC-IDLE state with suspend), including transmitting to the UE a data packet that includes at least a portion of the DL data, while the UE continues to operate in the inactive state (See Kim [0234]-[0239] – generating third message based on the decided RRC state; third message can include DL data).
RE Claim 6¸ Kim, modified by Dai, discloses a method, as set forth in claim 1 above, wherein the selecting includes:
when the DL data does not qualify for EDT, selecting a procedure for notifying the UE of non-early DL data (See Kim [0232]-[0239] – determining procedure for notifying UE of non EDT), including transmitting to the UE a message associated with the protocol for controlling radio resources (See Kim [0232]-[0239] – i.e. transmitting third message on decided RRC state), the message indicating arrival of the first data, while the UE continues to operate in the inactive state (See Kim [0232]-[0239] – third message indicates arrival of the first data (i.e. DL data can be included in third message) while UE operates in inactive state (i.e. RRC-IDLE)).
RE Claim 7¸ Kim, modified by Dai, discloses a method, as set forth in claim 1 above, implemented in a central unit (CU) of the base station including the CU and a distributed unit (DU) (See Kim [0215] – i.e. DU connected to CU).
RE Claim 12, Kim discloses a base station comprising processing hardware and a transceiver, configured to:
determine that downlink (DL) data received from the CN (See Kim FIG 12) is available for transmitting to the UE (See Kim [0006], [0009], [0014] – determining DL data for transmitting to the UE) operating in an inactive state of a protocol for controlling radio resources (See Kim [0005]-[0006], [0009], [0014] – UE operating in inactive/idle state; protocol to control resources by transmitting using MT-EDT or not);
determine whether the UE can perform early-data communication of second data (See Kim [0178] – determine to use MT-EDT based on UE capability); and
select a procedure for communicating the DL data based at least in part on (i) whether the UE can perform early-data communication (See Kim [0178] – determine to use MT-EDT based on UE capability) and (ii) whether the DL data qualifies for early data transmission (EDT) to the UE (See Kim [0231]-[0232] – based on size of DL data determines in part whether the data qualifies for EDT).
Kim does not specifically disclose
determining whether the UE is performing early-data communication of second data; and
selecting a procedure for communicating the DL data based at least in part on whether the UE is performing early-data communication.
However, Dai teaches of
determining whether the UE is performing early-data communication of second data (See Dai [0016], [0091] – base station determining if ongoing SDT communication for the UE); and
selecting a procedure for communicating the DL data based at least in part on whether the UE is performing early-data communication (See Dai [0016], [0091] – base station determining a procedure for communicating the DL data based at least in part on determining if ongoing SDT communication for the UE).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the EDT communication system, as disclosed in Kim, comprising determining whether the UE is performing early-data communication of second data; and
selecting a procedure for communicating the DL data based at least in part on whether the UE is performing early-data communication, as taught in Dai. One is motivated as such in order to improve efficiency while lowering latency and overhead (See Dai Background; Summary).
RE Claim 18¸ Kim discloses a method, as set forth in claim 13 above. Kim does not specifically disclose further comprising: subsequently to transitioning to the connected state, communicating the non-early DL data using (i) a first radio bearer configured for early data communication and (ii) a second radio bearer configured for non-early data communication.
However, Dai teaches of further comprising:
subsequently to transitioning to the connected state, communicating the non-early DL data using (i) a first radio bearer configured for early data communication (See Dai [0071] - upon initiating a RRC resume procedure for the SDT initiation (i.e. for the first SDT), the UE may reestablish at least the SDT packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entities and resume the SDT DRBs that are configured for small data transmission and SDT signaling radio bearer (SRB)) and (ii) a second radio bearer configured for non-early data communication (See Dai [0092] - Then, after receiving the RRC resume message, in step 311, the UE may enter into the RRC_CONNECTED state for receiving the downlink non-SDT data and/or the downlink non-SDT signaling. For example, the UE may resume all non-SDT RBs of the downlink non-SDT data and/or the downlink non-SDT signaling).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the EDT communication system, as disclosed in Kim, further comprising: subsequently to transitioning to the connected state, communicating the non-early DL data using (i) a first radio bearer configured for early data communication and (ii) a second radio bearer configured for non-early data communication, as taught in Dai. One is motivated as such in order to improve efficiency while lowering latency and overhead (See Dai Background; Summary).
RE Claim 20¸ Kim, modified by Dai, discloses a base station, as set forth in claim 12 above, wherein to select the procedure, the base station is configured to:
when the DL data does not qualify for EDT, select a paging procedure, including transmit to the UE a paging message (See Dai [0073] – for non-SDT DL data, sending paging message to UE).
RE Claim 21¸ Kim, modified by Dai, discloses a base station, as set forth in claim 12 above, wherein to select the procedure, the base station is configured to:
when the DL data does not qualify for EDT, select a procedure for resuming a suspended radio connection between the UE and the RAN, including transmit to the UE a command to resume the radio connection, including omitting a paging procedure (See Dai [0091] - In the case that there is an ongoing SDT procedure for the UE, in step 310, the receiving BS may transmit the RRC resume message to indicate the UE to enter into the RRC_CONNECTED state for transmission of the downlink non-SDT data and/or the downlink non-SDT signaling without performing a RAN paging procedure).
RE Claim 22¸ Kim, modified by Dai, discloses a base station, as set forth in claim 12 above, wherein to select the procedure, the base station is configured to:
when the DL data does not qualify for EDT, select a procedure for transmitting non-EDT data over a suspended radio connection (See Kim [0234] – deciding RRC state is RRC-IDLE state with suspend), including transmit to the UE a data packet that includes at least a portion of the DL data, while the UE continues to operate in the inactive state (See Kim [0234]-[0239] – generating third message based on the decided RRC state; third message can include DL data).
RE Claim 23¸ Kim, modified by Dai, discloses a base station, as set forth in claim 12 above, wherein to select the procedure, the base station is configured to:
when the DL data does not qualify for EDT, select a procedure for notifying the UE of non-early DL data (See Kim [0232]-[0239] – determining procedure for notifying UE of non EDT), including transmit to the UE a message associated with the protocol for controlling radio resources (See Kim [0232]-[0239] – i.e. transmitting third message on decided RRC state), the message indicating arrival of the first data, while the UE continues to operate in the inactive state (See Kim [0232]-[0239] – third message indicates arrival of the first data (i.e. DL data can be included in third message) while UE operates in inactive state (i.e. RRC-IDLE)).
Claims 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US# 2022/0303946 hereinafter referred to as Kim) in view of Kim et al. (US# 2024/0155670 hereinafter referred to as Kim ‘670).
RE Claim 15¸ Kim discloses a method, as set forth in claim 13 above. Kim does not specifically disclose further comprising: in response to determining that the non-early DL data is available, transmitting to the RAN a request to transition to the connected state.
However, Kim ‘670 teaches of in response to determining that the non-early DL data is available (See Kim ‘670 [0089] – can apply to UE for transmit/receive (i.e. UL/DL data)), transmitting to the RAN a request to transition to the connected state (See Kim ‘670 [0007], [0089] - the UE transmits a RRC resume request message for transitioning to a RRC CONNECTED state via a Common Control Channel (CCCH) ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the EDT communication system, as disclosed in Kim, further comprising: in response to determining that the non-early DL data is available, transmitting to the RAN a request to transition to the connected state, as taught in Kim ‘670. One is motivated as such in order to reduce latency of state transition (See Kim ‘670 [0003]-[0010]).
RE Claim 16¸ Kim, modified by Dai, discloses a method, as set forth in claim 15 above, wherein transmitting the request includes transmitting a dedicated control channel (DCCH) message or a common control channel (CCCH) message (See Kim ‘670 – i.e. CCCH).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 11 is 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 05/26/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding Applicant's argument that the cited references do not teach “determining…whether the UE is performing early-data communication of second data” and “selecting…a procedure for communicating the DL data based at least in part on …whether the UE is performing early-data communication”, the Examiner respectfully disagrees. The Applicant has argued that Dai does not suggest determining “whether the DL data qualifies for early data transmission (EDT) to the UE” and selecting a procedure for communicating the DL data in view of this factor. Firstly, Kim already teaches determining “whether the DL data qualifies for early data transmission (EDT) to the UE” and selecting a procedure for communicating the DL data in view of this factor (See Kim [0231]-[0232] – based on size of DL data determines in part whether the data qualifies for EDT; performing MT-EDT on EDT eligible data). Secondly, Dai also makes this determination in that for both determining ongoing SDT procedure and then transmission of non-SDT data, the data being transmitted as to be determined to be either SDT or non-SDT data in order to be transmitted as part of SDT procedure or transmitted as non-SDT data. Furthermore, the Applicant has argued that does not discuss the possibility of SDT data or SDT signaling when there is an ongoing SDT procedure for the UE, much less selecting a procedure for communicating DL data based on whether the DL data qualifies for SDT. The Examiner submits that firstly, nowhere in the claim language does it require SDT data or SDT signaling when there is an ongoing SDT procedure for the UE. That is, the “DL Data” is determined to qualify for SDT or not and a “procedure” is selected to communicate the DL data. The DL data can be determined to not qualify for SDT and the “procedure” that is selected to communicate the DL data can be a non-SDT procedure. Selecting to transmit non-SDT data if there is an ongoing SDT procedure IS a selection of a “procedure” to transmit the DL data (i.e. if the DL data is non-SDT data, it will get transmitted as part of the non-SDT transmission/s and if the DL data is SDT data, it will not get transmitted as part of the non-SDT transmission/s and will get transmitted as part of SDT transmissions).
Regarding Applicant's argument that Kim does not teach the elements of Claim 13, the Examiner respectfully disagrees. The Applicant has argued that Kim does not teach an indication that non-early DL data is available. The Examiner submits that the indication of non-early DL data being available and the transitioning to a connected state when non-early data is available is directly tied to the determined and indicated RRC state (based on DL data size). That is, then there is non-early DL data available (i.e. DL data size is determined to be larger than threshold), the determined RRC state is RRC-connected and the “third message” (which can include the DL data itself – non-early DL data) can indicate the RRC-connected state to the wireless device (i.e. RRC-connected state indicates non-early DL data). Furthermore, the two claimed “receiving” steps in Claim 13 are “OR” limitations. The Applicant has further argued that Kim does not teach that the wireless device of transitions to a connected state of the protocol when the non-early data is available. The Examiner disagrees and submits that when non-early data is available, the determined RRC-connected state is indicated to the wireless device (along with the non-early DL data). The wireless device then transitions to a connected state. That is, the indication of the determined RRC-connected state is an indication of non-early data availability as the RRC-connected state is determined when the DL data size is larger than a threshold size (i.e. non-early DL data).
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 Steve R Young whose telephone number is (571)270-7518. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Chirag G Shah can be reached at (571) 272-3144. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/STEVE R YOUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477
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