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 .
This Office Action is in response to preliminary amendment filing on 04/01/2024.
Claims 18 and 19 have been cancelled.
Claim 1-17 and 20-22 are currently pending and have been considered below.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 03/22/2024. These drawings are reviewed and accepted by the Examiner.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/16/2025 and 08/09/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(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 1- 17 and 20-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zheng (US 20240324020).
Regarding claim 1, Zheng discloses a random access method (random access channel (RACH) procedure), performed by a terminal, comprising:
determining a semi-static transmission resource (Fig. 4, 405, and [0069] “the UE may receive … a release message (e.g., RRCRelease) that indicates one or more configurations of a set of configured grant resources. … the configured grant may indicate resources configured to be used by the UE for SDT communications.” [0039] “The transmit processor 220 may process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI)) and control information”); and
sending an uplink message for a random access based on the semi-static transmission resource (initiating a random access channel (RACH) procedure based at least in part on the configured grant, [0005]; the user equipment to transmit an uplink message, via a configured grant (i.e., semi-static resource), while the UE is in an inactive state[0007]; one or more processors of the UE further cause the UE to initiate a RACH procedure based at least in part on the configured grant (e.g., semi-static resource) being unsuitable for subsequent transmissions of the uplink data, [0007]and [0036] ).
Regarding claim 2, Zheng discloses the random access method of claim 1, wherein the uplink message comprises a radio resource control (RRC) resume request (the uplink message including a request to resume a connection and uplink data, [0046]; the UE may transmit, … , a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) payload that includes a resume request message (e.g., an RRCResumeReq), [0053]) and/or an RRC setup request, or comprises the RRC resume request and the RRC setup request.
Regarding claim 3, Zheng discloses the random access method of claim 2, wherein before sending the uplink message for the random access based on the semi-static transmission resource, the method further comprises: determining that a time advance (TA) of an uplink data transmission for the random access is valid (the UE may restart a timing alignment timer for the configured grant-based SDT (e.g., TA-SDT timer) such that the configured grant SDT resources are valid again, [0110]).
Regarding claim 4, Zheng discloses the random access method of claim 1, wherein the semi-static transmission resource is a semi-static transmission resource configured for a small data transmission or SDT (The UE may determine to use the valid resource for subsequent SDT transmitting of the uplink data using the configured grant SDT procedure, [0096]) in an inactive state (a UE may be configured to communicate using small data transfers (SDTs) when the UE is in an inactive mode (e.g., radio resource control (RRC) inactive), [0049]).
Regarding claim 5, Zheng discloses the random access method of claim 1, wherein the uplink message comprises includes no first identification information of the terminal (the UE selects the non-SDT RACH-based procedure based at least in part on one or more criteria, [0108]), and the first identification information of the terminal is identification information of the terminal in an RRC inactive state (the UE may transmit the indication of support as part of an RRC connection procedure, [0087]; the message of the RACH procedure comprises an indication of an identification of the UE, [0151]).
Regarding claim 6, Zheng discloses the random access method of claim 1,wherein the first identification information of the terminal is determined based on a position of the semi-static transmission resource that carries the uplink message (The transmit processor 220 may process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI)) and control information, [0039] ), wherein the first identification information of the terminal is identification information of the terminal in an RRC inactive state (the message of the RACH procedure comprises an indication of an identification of the UE, [0151])).
Regarding claim 7, Zheng discloses the random access method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving downlink control information (DCI) (the UE may receive the configuration information via one or more of RRC signaling, MAC CEs, and/or downlink control information (DCI), [0084]); and sending an acknowledgement message (The network response may indicate an acknowledgment of the first uplink message and/or may request a re-transmission of the first uplink message, [0071] ), wherein in response to determining that RRC resume information or RRC setup information is included in a downlink data transmission scheduled by the DCI (the UE may determine that the configured grant is unsuitable based at least in part on the UE receiving data that triggers a BSR when the configured grant does not have a scheduling request resource available, [0081]).
Regarding claim 8, Zheng discloses the random access method of claim 7, wherein the RRC resume message resume information or the RRC setup information comprises includes no contention resolution information (the network response may indicate a contention resolution for the random access preamble. The network response does not include an RRC message (e.g., an RRCConnect or RRCReconnect message, among other examples) based at least in part on the UE not being in a connected state. The network response does not include an RRC message (e.g., an RRCConnect or RRCReconnect message, among other examples) based at least in part on the UE not being in a connected state, [0054]).
Regarding claim 9, Zheng discloses the random access method of claim 1, further comprising: acquiring second identification information of the terminal based on received indication information or a communication protocol, wherein the second identification information of the terminal is configured for data scheduling and data transmission (the UE may transmit, and the base station may receive, a second uplink message including a UE ID and/or a BSR via one or more MAC CEs, as described herein. The UE ID may implicitly indicate that the UE is an SDT-configured UE. The second uplink message may further include a configured grant resource request, UE assistance information, and/or traffic pattern information (e.g., traffic associated with the UE), [0111]).
Regarding claim 10, Zheng discloses a random access method, applied to performed by a network device comprising: receiving an uplink message for a random access sent by a terminal (The UE includes means for transmitting an uplink message, via a configured grant, while the UE is in an inactive state, [0046]) based on a semi-static transmission resource (… and/or means for transmitting at least a portion of the uplink data via a message of the RACH procedure, [0046]).
Claim 11 contains subject matter similar to claim 2, and thus, is rejected under similar rationale.
Claim 12 contains subject matter similar to claim 4, and thus, is rejected under similar rationale.
Claim 13 contains subject matter similar to claim 5, and thus, is rejected under similar rationale.
Claim 14 contains subject matter similar to claim 6, and thus, is rejected under similar rationale.
Claim 15 contains subject matter similar to claim 7, and thus, is rejected under similar rationale.
Claim 16 contains subject matter similar to claim 8, and thus, is rejected under similar rationale.
Claim 17 contains subject matter similar to claim 9, and thus, is rejected under similar rationale.
18. (Cancelled)
19. (Cancelled)
Claim 20 contains subject matter similar to claim 1, and thus, is rejected under similar rationale. (Zheng, Figure 2, UE 200, processor 280, and memory 281).
Claim 21 contains subject matter similar to claim 1, and thus, is rejected under similar rationale ( Zheng [0162]: “non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by a controller or a processor”).
Claim 22 contains subject matter similar to claim 1, and thus, is rejected under similar rationale (Zheng, Figure 2, base station 110, processor 220, memory 242).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20240155374 to Wei et al : a user equipment (UE) in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) includes transmitting a first small data transmission to a base station during a first transmission occasion associated with a first NTN beam.
US 20240080930 to Zheng et al: a user equipment (UE) may detect, while in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or an RRC idle state, that data of a small data transmission (SDT) type for a non-SDT data radio bearer (DRB) has entered a buffer of the UE.
US 20230180223 to Tseng et al: a user equipment (UE) for transmitting uplink (UL) data in a radio resource control (RRC) INACTIVE state is provided.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JULIO R PEREZ whose telephone number is (571)272-7846. The examiner can normally be reached 10Am - 6PM EST M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kathy Wang-Hurst can be reached at 5712705371. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JULIO R PEREZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2644