DETAILED ACTION
This action is a response to an amendment filed on 6/26/26 in which claims 1, 2, 5-7, 10-13, 15-17, 20-22 and 34 are pending.
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 .
Claim Objections
Claim objections have been withdrawn due to applicant’s remarks.
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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lou et al. (Pub. No.: 2021/0368417), herein Lou and Wang et al. Pub. No.: 2023/0319782, herein Wang.
As to claim 1, Lou teaches a method for sending remote user equipment (UE) information, comprising:
sending, by a first relay UE, information of a remote UE to a base station (Lou [0114] The identifier of the remote UE may be included in the request message by the remote UE, or may be carried in the adaptation information when the relay UE forwards the request message. The CU determines, based on the received identifier of the remote UE, that the request is a request of the remote UE, and the relay UE that forwards the request message serves as a relay to provide a relay service for the remote UE)
wherein the remote UE accesses the base station through the first relay UE (Lou [0110] For example, FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a communication method according to this application. FIG. 6 mainly describes a process in which remote UE requests to set up an RRC connection or resume an RRC connection, or requests to re-establish an RRC connection to a base station through relay UE),
and the information of the remote UE comprises a user to network (Uu) interface identifier and/or a sidelink communication (PC5) interface identifier of the remote UE (Lou [0114] For example, the identifier of the remote UE may be an identifier of the remote UE carried in the request message of the remote UE that is received by the CU. For example, the identifier of the remote UE may be a layer 2 identifier (L2ID) of the remote UE, or may be an identifier of a PC5 interface that is of the remote UE and that is between the remote UE and the relay UE, or a combination of the L2ID of the remote UE and the identifier of the PC5 interface)
Lou does not teach
wherein before the sending the information of the remote UE to the base station, the method further comprises: receiving, by the first relay UE, the information of the remote UE through a sidelink between the first relay UE and the remote UE
wherein the first relay UE sends the information of the remote UE to the base station when a precondition is met, and the precondition comprises at least one of the following:
a first precondition: the remote UE is in an RRC idle state or inactive state, the first relay UE is in an RRC connected state, and the first relay UE is not configured with a common control resource set (CORESET) and/or common search space
a second precondition: the first relay UE receives an initial Uu RRC message sent by the remote UE via the sidelink;
a third precondition: the first relay UE detects that a sidelink between the first relay UE and the remote UE is interrupted.
However Wang does teach
wherein before the sending the information of the remote UE to the base station, the method further comprises: receiving, by the first relay UE, the information of the remote UE through a sidelink between the first relay UE and the remote UE (Wang [0011] In a possible implementation, first information is received from the first terminal device, where the first information indicates that a sidelink connection exists between the first terminal device and the second terminal device)
wherein the first relay UE sends the information of the remote UE to the base station when a precondition is met, and the precondition comprises at least one of the following:
a first precondition: the remote UE is in an RRC idle state or inactive state, the first relay UE is in an RRC connected state, and the first relay UE is not configured with a common control resource set (CORESET) and/or common search space (Wang [0168] In this embodiment, the first information may include identifier information of the second terminal device. The first information may include identifier information of the second terminal device in a disconnected state, and the disconnected state includes an idle state or an inactive state)
a second precondition: the first relay UE receives an initial Uu RRC message sent by the remote UE via the sidelink;
a third precondition: the first relay UE detects that a sidelink between the first relay UE and the remote UE is interrupted.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Lou and Wang, because Wang teaches us [0104] In a possible case, when the remote UE is in an idle state or inactive state, a connection between the remote UE and the base station is disconnected, the base station needs to send data or voice to the remote UE, and the base station may find the remote UE through a paging message. After the remote UE receives the paging message, the remote UE may establish a connection to the base station by assistance of the relay UE, to perform data transmission or voice transmission. Alternatively, after the remote UE receives the paging message, the remote UE may trigger an initial connection establishment based on the paging message.
As to claim 2, the combination of Lou and Wang teach the method according to claim 1,
wherein the information of the remote UE further comprises at least one of following information:
a radio resource control (RRC) state of the remote UE (Wang [0168] In this embodiment, the first information may include identifier information of the second terminal device. The first information may include identifier information of the second terminal device in a disconnected state, and the disconnected state includes an idle state or an inactive state);
paging reception requirement information of the remote UE, wherein the paging reception requirement information is used for indicating whether a relay UE is required to perform paging forwarding;
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Lou and Wang for the same reasons stated in claim 1.
As to claim 5, the combination of Lou and Wang teach the method according to claim 1, wherein, in case that the second precondition is met, the first relay UE buffers the initial Uu RRC message, and after the sending the information of the remote UE to the base station, the method further comprises:
receiving and saving, by the first relay UE, a correspondence relationship between the PC5 interface identifier of the remote UE and a local relay identifier that is sent by the base station,
wherein the local relay identifier is identification information assigned by the base station for identifying the remote UE on a Uu interface between the first relay UE and the base station; and/or,
receiving, by the first relay UE, Uu interface configuration information of the remote UE that is sent by the base station, and performing, by the first relay UE, configuration of the Uu interface according to the Uu interface configuration information of the remote UE, wherein the Uu interface configuration information comprises configuration information of a signaling radio bearer (SRB) and/or a data radio bearer (DRB) (Lou [0217] After receiving the downlink RRC information sent by the DU, the relay UE obtains the third indication in a process of deleting the PHY layer, the MAC layer, and the RLC layer on the Uu interface that are encapsulated in the downlink RRC information by the DU. Therefore, the relay UE determines, according to the third indication, that the downlink RRC information includes the adaptation information. In this case, after deleting the PHY layer, the MAC layer, and the RLC layer on the Uu interface in the downlink RRC information, the relay UE reads the adaptation information, and determines that an RRC reconfiguration message encapsulated in the downlink RRC information is the RRC reconfiguration message of the remote UE 2 [0218] For example, if the adaptation information carries the identifier of the remote UE 2 and the LCID 3, after deleting the adaptation information, and encapsulating the PHY layer, the MAC layer, and the RLC layer of the PC5 interface outside the PDCP layer in the downlink RRC information, the relay UE sends the downlink RRC information to the remote UE 2 through the logical channel LCID 3. If the adaptation information carries the identifier of the remote UE 2 and the identifier of the SRB 1 of the remote UE 2, the relay UE determines, based on the mapping relationship that is indicated by the previously received RRC reconfiguration message of the relay UE and that is shown in Table 1, to send the downlink RRC information of the remote UE 2 to the remote UE 2 through the logical channel LCID 3)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Lou and Wang for the same reasons stated in claim 1.
As to claim 6, the combination of Lou and Wang teach the method according to claim 5, wherein the performing configuration of the Uu interface comprises: configuring an entity corresponding to the Uu interface for the remote UE in at least one of a local adaptation layer, a local radio link control (RLC) layer and a local medium access control (MAC) layer (Lou [0217] After receiving the downlink RRC information sent by the DU, the relay UE obtains the third indication in a process of deleting the PHY layer, the MAC layer, and the RLC layer on the Uu interface that are encapsulated in the downlink RRC information by the DU. Therefore, the relay UE determines, according to the third indication, that the downlink RRC information includes the adaptation information. In this case, after deleting the PHY layer, the MAC layer, and the RLC layer on the Uu interface in the downlink RRC information, the relay UE reads the adaptation information, and determines that an RRC reconfiguration message encapsulated in the downlink RRC information is the RRC reconfiguration message of the remote UE 2)
wherein the method further comprises: in case that the first relay UE detects that a sidelink between the first relay UE and the remote UE is interrupted, sending, by the first relay UE, an indication message to the base station that indicates the wireless link between the remote UE and the first relay UE is interrupted (Wang [0168] In this embodiment, the first information may include identifier information of the second terminal device. The first information may include identifier information of the second terminal device in a disconnected state, and the disconnected state includes an idle state or an inactive state)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Lou and Wang for the same reasons stated in claim 1.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lou, Wang and Lee et al. (Pub No.: 2018/0287689 A1), herein Lee.
As to claim 7, the combination of Lou and Wang teach the method according to claim 5,
determining, by the first relay UE, according to the locally saved correspondence relationship between the PC5 interface identifier of the remote UE and the local relay identifier and a first local relay identifier carried in an adaptation layer header of the first Uu RRC message, a first remote UE corresponding to the first local relay identifier (Lou [0114] For example, the identifier of the remote UE may be an identifier of the remote UE carried in the request message of the remote UE that is received by the CU. For example, the identifier of the remote UE may be a layer 2 identifier (L2ID) of the remote UE, or may be an identifier of a PC5 interface that is of the remote UE and that is between the remote UE and the relay UE, or a combination of the L2ID of the remote UE and the identifier of the PC5 interface. The identifier of the remote UE may be included in the request message by the remote UE, or may be carried in the adaptation information when the relay UE forwards the request message. And a mapping relationship between an identifier of the SRB and the identifier of the logical channel between the relay UE and the remote UE)
Lou nor Wang teach further comprising:
adding, by the first relay UE, the local relay identifier corresponding to the remote UE to an adaptation layer header of the initial Uu RRC message and sending, by the first relay UE, the initial Uu RRC message to the base station;
wherein the method further comprises:
receiving, by the first relay UE, a first Uu RRC message sent by the base station;
and
sending, by the first relay UE, the first Uu RRC message to the first remote UE.
However Lee does teach
adding, by the first relay UE, the local relay identifier corresponding to the remote UE to an adaptation layer header of the initial Uu RRC message and sending, by the first relay UE, the initial Uu RRC message to the base station (Lee [0103] If the relay UE knows the remote UE's local identifier, the relay UE adds the remote UE's local identifier in the header of the adaption layer for forwarding the remote UE's message to the network)
wherein the method further comprises:
receiving, by the first relay UE, a first Uu RRC message sent by the base station (Lee [0103] Then, the network also adds the remote UE's local identifier in the header of the adaption layer for sending the message destined to the remote UE)
sending, by the first relay UE, the first Uu RRC message to the first remote UE (Lee [0103] Then, the network also adds the remote UE's local identifier in the header of the adaption layer for sending the message destined to the remote UE)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Lou and Wang with Lee, because Lee teaches us [0084] Within a Uu DRB, different evolved ProSe Remote UEs and different bearers of the evolved ProSe Remote UE are indicated by additional information included in adaptation layer header which is added to PDCP PDU. The evolved ProSe Remote UE is identified in the adaptation layer header on Uu by only local identifier (i.e. an index), which is known to at least the eNB and evolved ProSe UE-to-Network Relay UE. For identifying bearer of the evolved ProSe Remote UE, a bearer identity is indicated by additional information included in adaptation layer header.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/26/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The applicant states that Lou nor Wang teach amended claim 1, specifically “receiving, by the first relay UE, the information of the remote UE through a sidelink between the first relay UE and the remote UE” applicant remarks page 3 2nd paragraph. The examiner respectfully disagrees. Wang [0003] a relay terminal (relay UE) may listen to a paging message of a remote terminal (remote UE), so that the remote terminal can establish a connection to a base station through the relay terminal after receiving the paging message, and perform data transmission or voice transmission [0100] the relay UE and the remote UE may communicate through a sidelink (SL).
In addition, the applicant states that Lou nor Wang teaches the amendments to claim 1, specifically the first precondition of pending claim 4 ‘(the remote UE is in an RRC idle state or inactive state, the first relay UE is in an RRC connected state and the first relay is not configured with a common CORSET or common search space) applicant remakrs page 2. The examiner respectfully disagrees. Wang [0168] In this embodiment, the first information may include identifier information of the second terminal device. The first information may include identifier information of the second terminal device in a disconnected state, and the disconnected state includes an idle state or an inactive state. [0101] In an uplink scenario, when the remote UE needs to send data to the base station, the remote UE may send the data to the relay UE, and the relay UE forwards the data received from the remote UE to the base station. In addition, In 5G NR (NG-RAN), a Relay UE does not need to be in an RRC connected state from the start to perform its relay function, but it must be able to enter RRC connected state when needed to provide the relay service. For these reasons the examiner maintains the rejection.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-13, 15-17, 20-22 and 34 are allowed. Rejections have been withdrawn due to applicant’s amendments.
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 AYANAH S GEORGE whose telephone number is (571)272-8880. The examiner can normally be reached 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
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AYANAH S. GEORGE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2467
/AYANAH S GEORGE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2467
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