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 1-20 are pending.
Claims 1-20 stand rejected.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In regard to Claim 1, Claim 1 recites: “and in a case that at least one of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation is configured and the TAT expires” (emphasis added). It is unclear whether or not one of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation is configured and the TAT expires is actually required to occur. The examiner suggests adding in response to, so that the above claim excerpt states: and in response to at least one of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation is configured and the TAT expires.
Claims 2-8 are rejected through dependence from Claim 1.
In regard to Claim 9, Claim 9 recites: “and in a case that at least one of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation is configured and the TAT expires” (emphasis added). It is unclear whether or not one of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation is configured and the TAT expires is actually required to occur. The examiner suggests adding in response to, so that the above claim excerpt states: and in response to at least one of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation is configured and the TAT expires.
Claims 10-16 are rejected through dependence from Claim 9.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 9-13 and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dalsgaard (Pub. No.: US 20130084848 A1) in view of Dinan (Pub. No.: US 20170006599 A1), hereafter respectively referred to as Dalsgaard and Dinan.
In regard to Claim 1, Dalsgaard teaches A method performed by a User Equipment (UE) (UE, Para. 20, FIG. 1) for handling timing alignment, the method comprising: receiving, from a Base Station (BS) (eNB, Para. 20, FIG. 1), a first message for configuring a Time Alignment Timer (TAT) (The TAT may be started or reset every time the UE receives a timing advance (TA) value from the eNB. When the TAT expires, the UE will release these resources and will need to be reconfigured with a new resource by the RRC, Para. 20. As illustrated in FIG. 1, at 102, the network is in RRC connected mode. At 103, the TAT is expired, Para. 32, FIG. 1).
Dalsgaard teaches receiving, from the BS, a second RRC message for configuring at least one of a cell Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) operation or a cell Discontinuous Reception (DRX) operation (DRX configuration for RRC connected mode provides the option of configuring the UE with both a long DRX cycle and a short DRX cycle, Para. 19, FIG. 1. The eNB 101 transmits an RRC connection reconfiguration message 108, which may include both long and short DRX configuration, to the UE 100, Para. 32, FIG. 1).
Dalsgaard teaches in a case that at least one of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation is configured (At 103, the UE 100 is in DRX mode, Para. 32, FIG. 1) and the TAT expires (At 103, the UE 100 is in DRX mode and the TAT is expired, Para. 32, FIG. 1): considering the UE to be uplink synchronized with the BS (As both the longer and the shorter DRX cycles are recognized or known both by the UE and the eNB, and the state of the TAT is also known and synchronized between the UE and the eNB, the longer DRX is applied when the likelihood of scheduling is low (e.g., TAT has expired). When to apply which DRX cycle can be synchronized between the UE and the eNB based on the TAT status, and this synchronization can occur without additional signaling, Para. 24, FIG. 1. At 103, the UE 100 is in DRX mode and the TAT is expired. The UE 100 is configured with long and short DRX for efficient power savings, Para. 32, FIG. 1).
Although Dalsgaard teaches a first message for configuring a Time Alignment Timer (TAT), Dalsgaard fails to teach a first Radio Resource Control (RRC) message for configuring a Time Alignment Timer (TAT), and Dalsgaard fails to teach forgoing performing a procedure for handling an out-of-sync condition related to the expiration of the TAT.
Dinan teaches a first Radio Resource Control (RRC) message for configuring a Time Alignment Timer (TAT) (The eNB may transmit an RRC message comprising a TAT IE for a TAG, Para. 256).
Dinan teaches forgoing performing a procedure for handling an out-of-sync condition (avoid an unnecessary random access procedure, Para. 252) related to the expiration of the TAT (A UE may save the TA value upon expiry of associated TAT. The eNB may send a TAC MAC CE (e.g. with value zero) to start the TAT and avoid an unnecessary random access procedure. An eNB may perform this when the eNB wants to get a UE UL synchronized in a certain TAG after expiry of the corresponding TAT, Para. 252. A UE may be able to reuse a stored TA value even though the associated TAT has expired, Para. 253).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dinan with the teachings of Dalsgaard since Dinan provides a technique to avoid unnecessary random access procedures after expiry of corresponding TATs, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard to avoid unnecessary random access preamble transmissions and contention resolutions for synchronizations.
In regard to Claim 2, as presented in the rejection of Claim 1, Dalsgaard teaches the TAT.
Dalsgaard fails to teach the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition related to the expiration of the TAT comprises: flushing all Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) buffers for uplink transmission.
Dinan teaches the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition (random access procedure, Para. 252) related to the expiration of the TAT (A UE may save the TA value upon expiry of associated TAT. The eNB may send a TAC MAC CE (e.g. with value zero) to start the TAT and avoid an unnecessary random access procedure. An eNB may perform this when the eNB wants to get a UE UL synchronized in a certain TAG after expiry of the corresponding TAT, Para. 252) comprises: flushing all Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) buffers for uplink transmission (when a TAT associated with a pTAG expires: all TATs may be considered as expired, the UE may flush HARQ buffers of serving cells. When the TAT associated with an sTAG expires: d) the MAC in the UE may flush the uplink HARQ buffers, Para. 122).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dinan with the teachings of Dalsgaard since Dinan provides a technique to avoid unnecessary random access procedures after expiry of corresponding TATs, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard to avoid unnecessary random access preamble transmissions and contention resolutions for synchronizations.
In regard to Claim 3, as presented in the rejection of Claim 1, Dalsgaard teaches the TAT.
Dalsgaard fails to teach the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition related to the expiration of the TAT comprises: notifying an RRC layer of the UE to release a configured Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH).
Dinan teaches the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition (random access procedure, Para. 252) related to the expiration of the TAT (A UE may save the TA value upon expiry of associated TAT. The eNB may send a TAC MAC CE (e.g. with value zero) to start the TAT and avoid an unnecessary random access procedure. An eNB may perform this when the eNB wants to get a UE UL synchronized in a certain TAG after expiry of the corresponding TAT, Para. 252) comprises: notifying an RRC layer of the UE to release a configured Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) (In a MAC entity, when a TAT associated with a pTAG expires: the UE may clear any configured downlink assignment/uplink grants, and the RRC in the UE may release PUCCH/SRS for all configured serving cells. When the TAT associated with an sTAG expires: b) SRS RRC configuration may be released, Para. 122. When a TAT of an sTAG containing PUCCH SCell expires, the MAC may indicate to an RRC to release PUCCH resource for the PUCCH group, Para. 142).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dinan with the teachings of Dalsgaard since Dinan provides a technique to avoid unnecessary random access procedures after expiry of corresponding TATs, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard to avoid unnecessary random access preamble transmissions and contention resolutions for synchronizations.
In regard to Claim 4, as presented in the rejection of Claim 1, Dalsgaard teaches the TAT.
Dalsgaard fails to teach the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition related to the expiration of the TAT comprises: notifying an RRC layer of the UE to release a configured Sounding Reference Signal (SRS).
Dinan teaches the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition (random access procedure, Para. 252) related to the expiration of the TAT (A UE may save the TA value upon expiry of associated TAT. The eNB may send a TAC MAC CE (e.g. with value zero) to start the TAT and avoid an unnecessary random access procedure. An eNB may perform this when the eNB wants to get a UE UL synchronized in a certain TAG after expiry of the corresponding TAT, Para. 252) comprises: notifying an RRC layer of the UE to release a configured Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) (In a MAC entity, when a TAT associated with a pTAG expires: the UE may clear any configured downlink assignment/uplink grants, and the RRC in the UE may release PUCCH/SRS for all configured serving cells. When the TAT associated with an sTAG expires: b) SRS RRC configuration may be released, Para. 122. If the timeAlignmentTimer is associated with the pTAG: notify RRC to release PUCCH/SRS for serving cells. if the timeAlignmentTimer is associated with an sTAG, then for serving cells belonging to this TAG: notify RRC to release SRS, Para. 217).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dinan with the teachings of Dalsgaard since Dinan provides a technique to avoid unnecessary random access procedures after expiry of corresponding TATs, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard to avoid unnecessary random access preamble transmissions and contention resolutions for synchronizations.
In regard to Claim 5, as presented in the rejection of Claim 1, Dalsgaard teaches the TAT.
Dalsgaard fails to teach the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition related to the expiration of the TAT comprises: clearing a configured downlink assignment and a configured uplink grant.
Dinan teaches the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition (random access procedure, Para. 252) related to the expiration of the TAT (A UE may save the TA value upon expiry of associated TAT. The eNB may send a TAC MAC CE (e.g. with value zero) to start the TAT and avoid an unnecessary random access procedure. An eNB may perform this when the eNB wants to get a UE UL synchronized in a certain TAG after expiry of the corresponding TAT, Para. 252) comprises: clearing a configured downlink assignment and a configured uplink grant (In a MAC entity, when a TAT associated with a pTAG expires: the UE may clear any configured downlink assignment/uplink grants, Para. 122. When a timeAlignmentTimer expires: if the timeAlignmentTimer is associated with the pTAG: clear any configured downlink assignments and uplink grants, Para. 217).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dinan with the teachings of Dalsgaard since Dinan provides a technique to avoid unnecessary random access procedures after expiry of corresponding TATs, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard to avoid unnecessary random access preamble transmissions and contention resolutions for synchronizations.
In regard to Claim 9, Dalsgaard teaches A User Equipment (UE) (UE, Para. 20, FIG. 1) for handling timing alignment, the UE comprising: at least one processor (processor 22, Para. 39, FIG. 4); and at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the at least one processor and storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor (memory 14, coupled to processor 22, for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor 22, Para. 39, FIG. 4), cause the UE to: receive, from a Base Station (BS) (eNB, Para. 20, FIG. 1), a first message for configuring a Time Alignment Timer (TAT) (The TAT may be started or reset every time the UE receives a timing advance (TA) value from the eNB. When the TAT expires, the UE will release these resources and will need to be reconfigured with a new resource by the RRC, Para. 20. As illustrated in FIG. 1, at 102, the network is in RRC connected mode. At 103, the TAT is expired, Para. 32, FIG. 1).
Dalsgaard teaches receive, from the BS, a second RRC message for configuring at least one of a cell Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) operation or a cell Discontinuous Reception (DRX) operation (DRX configuration for RRC connected mode provides the option of configuring the UE with both a long DRX cycle and a short DRX cycle, Para. 19, FIG. 1. The eNB 101 transmits an RRC connection reconfiguration message 108, which may include both long and short DRX configuration, to the UE 100, Para. 32, FIG. 1).
Dalsgaard teaches in a case that at least one of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation is configured (At 103, the UE 100 is in DRX mode, Para. 32, FIG. 1) and the TAT expires (At 103, the UE 100 is in DRX mode and the TAT is expired, Para. 32, FIG. 1): consider the UE to be uplink synchronized with the BS (As both the longer and the shorter DRX cycles are recognized or known both by the UE and the eNB, and the state of the TAT is also known and synchronized between the UE and the eNB, the longer DRX is applied when the likelihood of scheduling is low (e.g., TAT has expired). When to apply which DRX cycle can be synchronized between the UE and the eNB based on the TAT status, and this synchronization can occur without additional signaling, Para. 24, FIG. 1. At 103, the UE 100 is in DRX mode and the TAT is expired. The UE 100 is configured with long and short DRX for efficient power savings, Para. 32, FIG. 1).
Although Dalsgaard teaches a first message for configuring a Time Alignment Timer (TAT), Dalsgaard fails to teach a first Radio Resource Control (RRC) message for configuring a Time Alignment Timer (TAT), and Dalsgaard fails to teach forgo performing a procedure for handling an out-of-sync condition related to the expiration of the TAT.
Dinan teaches a first Radio Resource Control (RRC) message for configuring a Time Alignment Timer (TAT) (The eNB may transmit an RRC message comprising a TAT IE for a TAG, Para. 256).
Dinan teaches forgo performing a procedure for handling an out-of-sync condition (avoid an unnecessary random access procedure, Para. 252) related to the expiration of the TAT (A UE may save the TA value upon expiry of associated TAT. The eNB may send a TAC MAC CE (e.g. with value zero) to start the TAT and avoid an unnecessary random access procedure. An eNB may perform this when the eNB wants to get a UE UL synchronized in a certain TAG after expiry of the corresponding TAT, Para. 252. A UE may be able to reuse a stored TA value even though the associated TAT has expired, Para. 253).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dinan with the teachings of Dalsgaard since Dinan provides a technique to avoid unnecessary random access procedures after expiry of corresponding TATs, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard to avoid unnecessary random access preamble transmissions and contention resolutions for synchronizations.
In regard to Claim 10, as presented in the rejection of Claim 9, Dalsgaard teaches the TAT.
Dalsgaard fails to teach the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition related to the expiration of the TAT comprises: flushing all Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) buffers for uplink transmission
Dinan teaches the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition (random access procedure, Para. 252) related to the expiration of the TAT (A UE may save the TA value upon expiry of associated TAT. The eNB may send a TAC MAC CE (e.g. with value zero) to start the TAT and avoid an unnecessary random access procedure. An eNB may perform this when the eNB wants to get a UE UL synchronized in a certain TAG after expiry of the corresponding TAT, Para. 252) comprises: flushing all Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) buffers for uplink transmission (when a TAT associated with a pTAG expires: all TATs may be considered as expired, the UE may flush HARQ buffers of serving cells. When the TAT associated with an sTAG expires: d) the MAC in the UE may flush the uplink HARQ buffers, Para. 122).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dinan with the teachings of Dalsgaard since Dinan provides a technique to avoid unnecessary random access procedures after expiry of corresponding TATs, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard to avoid unnecessary random access preamble transmissions and contention resolutions for synchronizations.
In regard to Claim 11, as presented in the rejection of Claim 9, Dalsgaard teaches the TAT.
Dalsgaard fails to teach the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition related to the expiration of the TAT comprises: notifying an RRC layer of the UE to release a configured Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH).
Dinan teaches the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition (random access procedure, Para. 252) related to the expiration of the TAT (A UE may save the TA value upon expiry of associated TAT. The eNB may send a TAC MAC CE (e.g. with value zero) to start the TAT and avoid an unnecessary random access procedure. An eNB may perform this when the eNB wants to get a UE UL synchronized in a certain TAG after expiry of the corresponding TAT, Para. 252) comprises: notifying an RRC layer of the UE to release a configured Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) (In a MAC entity, when a TAT associated with a pTAG expires: the UE may clear any configured downlink assignment/uplink grants, and the RRC in the UE may release PUCCH/SRS for all configured serving cells. When the TAT associated with an sTAG expires: b) SRS RRC configuration may be released, Para. 122. When a TAT of an sTAG containing PUCCH SCell expires, the MAC may indicate to an RRC to release PUCCH resource for the PUCCH group, Para. 142).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dinan with the teachings of Dalsgaard since Dinan provides a technique to avoid unnecessary random access procedures after expiry of corresponding TATs, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard to avoid unnecessary random access preamble transmissions and contention resolutions for synchronizations.
In regard to Claim 12, as presented in the rejection of Claim 9, Dalsgaard teaches the TAT.
Dalsgaard fails to teach the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition related to the expiration of the TAT comprises: notifying an RRC layer of the UE to release a configured Sounding Reference Signal (SRS).
Dinan teaches the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition (random access procedure, Para. 252) related to the expiration of the TAT (A UE may save the TA value upon expiry of associated TAT. The eNB may send a TAC MAC CE (e.g. with value zero) to start the TAT and avoid an unnecessary random access procedure. An eNB may perform this when the eNB wants to get a UE UL synchronized in a certain TAG after expiry of the corresponding TAT, Para. 252) comprises: notifying an RRC layer of the UE to release a configured Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) (In a MAC entity, when a TAT associated with a pTAG expires: the UE may clear any configured downlink assignment/uplink grants, and the RRC in the UE may release PUCCH/SRS for all configured serving cells. When the TAT associated with an sTAG expires: b) SRS RRC configuration may be released, Para. 122. If the timeAlignmentTimer is associated with the pTAG: notify RRC to release PUCCH/SRS for serving cells. if the timeAlignmentTimer is associated with an sTAG, then for serving cells belonging to this TAG: notify RRC to release SRS, Para. 217).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dinan with the teachings of Dalsgaard since Dinan provides a technique to avoid unnecessary random access procedures after expiry of corresponding TATs, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard to avoid unnecessary random access preamble transmissions and contention resolutions for synchronizations.
In regard to Claim 13, as presented in the rejection of Claim 9, Dalsgaard teaches the TAT.
Dalsgaard fails to teach the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition related to the expiration of the TAT comprises: clearing a configured downlink assignment and a configured uplink grant.
Dinan teaches the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition (random access procedure, Para. 252) related to the expiration of the TAT (A UE may save the TA value upon expiry of associated TAT. The eNB may send a TAC MAC CE (e.g. with value zero) to start the TAT and avoid an unnecessary random access procedure. An eNB may perform this when the eNB wants to get a UE UL synchronized in a certain TAG after expiry of the corresponding TAT, Para. 252) comprises: clearing a configured downlink assignment and a configured uplink grant (In a MAC entity, when a TAT associated with a pTAG expires: the UE may clear any configured downlink assignment/uplink grants, Para. 122. When a timeAlignmentTimer expires: if the timeAlignmentTimer is associated with the pTAG: clear any configured downlink assignments and uplink grants, Para. 217).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dinan with the teachings of Dalsgaard since Dinan provides a technique to avoid unnecessary random access procedures after expiry of corresponding TATs, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard to avoid unnecessary random access preamble transmissions and contention resolutions for synchronizations.
In regard to Claim 17, Dalsgaard teaches A Base Station (BS) (eNB, Para. 20, FIG. 1) for handling timing alignment, the BS comprising: at least one processor (processor 22, Para. 39, FIG. 4); and at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the at least one processor and storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor (memory 14, coupled to processor 22, for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor 22, Para. 39, FIG. 4), cause the BS to: transmit, to a User Equipment (UE) (UE, Para. 20, FIG. 1), a first message for configuring a Time Alignment Timer (TAT) (The TAT may be started or reset every time the UE receives a timing advance (TA) value from the eNB. When the TAT expires, the UE will release these resources and will need to be reconfigured with a new resource by the RRC, Para. 20. As illustrated in FIG. 1, at 102, the network is in RRC connected mode. At 103, the TAT is expired, Para. 32, FIG. 1).
Dalsgaard teaches transmit, to the UE, a second RRC message for configuring at least one of a cell Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) operation or a cell Discontinuous Reception (DRX) operation (DRX configuration for RRC connected mode provides the option of configuring the UE with both a long DRX cycle and a short DRX cycle, Para. 19, FIG. 1. The eNB 101 transmits an RRC connection reconfiguration message 108, which may include both long and short DRX configuration, to the UE 100, Para. 32, FIG. 1).
Dalsgaard teaches, wherein the second RRC message enables the UE to: upon determining that at least one of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation is configured (At 103, the UE 100 is in DRX mode, Para. 32, FIG. 1) and that the TAT has expired (At 103, the UE 100 is in DRX mode and the TAT is expired, Para. 32, FIG. 1): consider the UE to be uplink synchronized with the BS (As both the longer and the shorter DRX cycles are recognized or known both by the UE and the eNB, and the state of the TAT is also known and synchronized between the UE and the eNB, the longer DRX is applied when the likelihood of scheduling is low (e.g., TAT has expired). When to apply which DRX cycle can be synchronized between the UE and the eNB based on the TAT status, and this synchronization can occur without additional signaling, Para. 24, FIG. 1. At 103, the UE 100 is in DRX mode and the TAT is expired. The UE 100 is configured with long and short DRX for efficient power savings, Para. 32, FIG. 1).
Although Dalsgaard teaches a first message for configuring a Time Alignment Timer (TAT), Dalsgaard fails to teach a first Radio Resource Control (RRC) message for configuring a Time Alignment Timer (TAT), and Dalsgaard fails to teach forgo performing a procedure for handling an out-of-sync condition related to the expiration of the TAT.
Dinan teaches a first Radio Resource Control (RRC) message for configuring a Time Alignment Timer (TAT) (The eNB may transmit an RRC message comprising a TAT IE for a TAG, Para. 256).
Dinan teaches forgo performing a procedure for handling an out-of-sync condition (avoid an unnecessary random access procedure, Para. 252) related to the expiration of the TAT (A UE may save the TA value upon expiry of associated TAT. The eNB may send a TAC MAC CE (e.g. with value zero) to start the TAT and avoid an unnecessary random access procedure. An eNB may perform this when the eNB wants to get a UE UL synchronized in a certain TAG after expiry of the corresponding TAT, Para. 252. A UE may be able to reuse a stored TA value even though the associated TAT has expired, Para. 253).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dinan with the teachings of Dalsgaard since Dinan provides a technique to avoid unnecessary random access procedures after expiry of corresponding TATs, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard to avoid unnecessary random access preamble transmissions and contention resolutions for synchronizations.
In regard to Claim 18, as presented in the rejection of Claim 17, Dalsgaard teaches the TAT.
Dalsgaard fails to teach the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition related to the expiration of the TAT comprises at least one of the following: flushing, by the UE, all Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) buffers for uplink transmission; notifying, by the UE, an RRC layer of the UE to release a configured Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH); notifying, by the UE, the RRC layer of the UE to release a configured Sounding Reference Signal (SRS); clearing, by the UE, a configured downlink assignment and a configured uplink grant; and clearing, by the UE, a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource for semi-persistent Channel State Information (CSI) reporting.
Dinan teaches the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition (random access procedure, Para. 252) related to the expiration of the TAT (A UE may save the TA value upon expiry of associated TAT. The eNB may send a TAC MAC CE (e.g. with value zero) to start the TAT and avoid an unnecessary random access procedure. An eNB may perform this when the eNB wants to get a UE UL synchronized in a certain TAG after expiry of the corresponding TAT, Para. 252) comprises at least one of the following: flushing, by the UE, all Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) buffers for uplink transmission (when a TAT associated with a pTAG expires: all TATs may be considered as expired, the UE may flush HARQ buffers of serving cells. When the TAT associated with an sTAG expires: d) the MAC in the UE may flush the uplink HARQ buffers, Para. 122); notifying, by the UE, an RRC layer of the UE to release a configured Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) (In a MAC entity, when a TAT associated with a pTAG expires: the UE may clear any configured downlink assignment/uplink grants, and the RRC in the UE may release PUCCH/SRS for all configured serving cells. When the TAT associated with an sTAG expires: b) SRS RRC configuration may be released, Para. 122. When a TAT of an sTAG containing PUCCH SCell expires, the MAC may indicate to an RRC to release PUCCH resource for the PUCCH group, Para. 142); notifying, by the UE, the RRC layer of the UE to release a configured Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) (In a MAC entity, when a TAT associated with a pTAG expires: the UE may clear any configured downlink assignment/uplink grants, and the RRC in the UE may release PUCCH/SRS for all configured serving cells. When the TAT associated with an sTAG expires: b) SRS RRC configuration may be released, Para. 122. If the timeAlignmentTimer is associated with the pTAG: notify RRC to release PUCCH/SRS for serving cells. if the timeAlignmentTimer is associated with an sTAG, then for serving cells belonging to this TAG: notify RRC to release SRS, Para. 217); clearing, by the UE, a configured downlink assignment and a configured uplink grant (In a MAC entity, when a TAT associated with a pTAG expires: the UE may clear any configured downlink assignment/uplink grants, Para. 122. When a timeAlignmentTimer expires: if the timeAlignmentTimer is associated with the pTAG: clear any configured downlink assignments and uplink grants, Para. 217); and clearing, by the UE, a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource for semi-persistent Channel State Information (CSI) reporting.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dinan with the teachings of Dalsgaard since Dinan provides a technique to avoid unnecessary random access procedures after expiry of corresponding TATs, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard to avoid unnecessary random access preamble transmissions and contention resolutions for synchronizations.
Claim(s) 6 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dalsgaard in view of Dinan, and further in view of Wu et al. (Pub. No.: US 20260025723 A1), hereafter referred to as Wu.
In regard to Claim 6, as presented in the rejection of Claim 1, Dalsgaard in view of Dinan teaches the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition related to the expiration of the TAT.
Dalsgaard in view of Dinan fails to teach the procedure comprises: clearing a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource for semi-persistent Channel State Information (CSI) reporting.
Wu teaches the procedure comprises: clearing a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource for semi-persistent Channel State Information (CSI) reporting (When the PTAG TAT expires, the terminal behavior includes at least one of the following: clearing Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource(s) for semi-persistent Channel State Information (CSI) reporting, Para. 56, 61).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wu with the teachings of Dalsgaard in view of Dinan since Wu provides a technique for clearing PUSCH resources for semi-persistent CSI reporting in relation to TAT expiration, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard in view of Dinan to ensure PUSCH resources are cleared of any semi-persistent CSI reporting and made available for other allocation after a TAT expires.
In regard to Claim 14, as presented in the rejection of Claim 9, Dalsgaard in view of Dinan teaches the procedure for handling the out-of-sync condition related to the expiration of the TAT.
Dalsgaard in view of Dinan fails to teach the procedure comprises: clearing a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource for semi-persistent Channel State Information (CSI) reporting.
Wu teaches the procedure comprises: clearing a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource for semi-persistent Channel State Information (CSI) reporting (When the PTAG TAT expires, the terminal behavior includes at least one of the following: clearing Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource(s) for semi-persistent Channel State Information (CSI) reporting, Para. 56, 61).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wu with the teachings of Dalsgaard in view of Dinan since Wu provides a technique for clearing PUSCH resources for semi-persistent CSI reporting in relation to TAT expiration, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard in view of Dinan to ensure PUSCH resources are cleared of any semi-persistent CSI reporting and made available for other allocation after a TAT expires.
Claim(s) 7, 15 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dalsgaard in view of Dinan, and further in view of Fujishiro (Pub. No.: US 20180302810 A1), hereafter referred to as Fujishiro.
In regard to Claim 7, as presented in the rejection of Claim 1, Dalsgaard in view of Dinan teaches the TAT.
Dalsgaard in view of Dinan fails to teach the TAT expires during a non-active period of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation.
Fujishiro teaches the TAT expires during a non-active period of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation (The UE that has been inactive for a longer time but is kept in RRC Connected could be interpreted that the UE applies the long DRX cycle. In addition, when the time alignment timer, TAT, has expired the UE initiates the random access procedure before SR transmission, Para. 144).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Fujishiro with the teachings of Dalsgaard in view of Dinan since Fujishiro provides a technique where a long DRX cycle involves a TAT expiration, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard in view of Dinan to permit TAT to expire during inactivity of a long DRX cycle and utilize synchronization during that time.
In regard to Claim 15, as presented in the rejection of Claim 9, Dalsgaard in view of Dinan teaches the TAT.
Dalsgaard in view of Dinan fails to teach the TAT expires during a non-active period of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation.
Fujishiro teaches the TAT expires during a non-active period of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation (The UE that has been inactive for a longer time but is kept in RRC Connected could be interpreted that the UE applies the long DRX cycle. In addition, when the time alignment timer, TAT, has expired the UE initiates the random access procedure before SR transmission, Para. 144).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Fujishiro with the teachings of Dalsgaard in view of Dinan since Fujishiro provides a technique where a long DRX cycle involves a TAT expiration, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard in view of Dinan to permit TAT to expire during inactivity of a long DRX cycle and utilize synchronization during that time.
In regard to Claim 19, as presented in the rejection of Claim 17, Dalsgaard in view of Dinan teaches the TAT.
Dalsgaard in view of Dinan fails to teach the TAT expires during a non-active period of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation.
Fujishiro teaches the TAT expires during a non-active period of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation (The UE that has been inactive for a longer time but is kept in RRC Connected could be interpreted that the UE applies the long DRX cycle. In addition, when the time alignment timer, TAT, has expired the UE initiates the random access procedure before SR transmission, Para. 144).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Fujishiro with the teachings of Dalsgaard in view of Dinan since Fujishiro provides a technique where a long DRX cycle involves a TAT expiration, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard in view of Dinan to permit TAT to expire during inactivity of a long DRX cycle and utilize synchronization during that time.
Claim(s) 8, 16 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dalsgaard in view of Dinan, and further in view of Malkamaki (Pub. No.: US 20130242953 A1), hereafter referred to as Malkamaki.
In regard to Claim 8, as presented in the rejection of Claim 1, Dalsgaard in view of Dinan teaches the TAT.
Dalsgaard in view of Dinan fails to teach suspending the TAT in response to a starting of a non-active period of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation; and resuming the TAT in response to a starting of an on-duration period of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation.
Malkamaki teaches suspending the TAT in response to a starting of a non-active period of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation; and resuming the TAT in response to a starting of an on-duration period of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation (the new DRX command MAC CE may be a "long DRX command" MAC CE that pushes apparatus 10 directly to a long DRX cycle, as shown in FIG. 4. A new MAC CE may be included which combines the TA command and the new long DRX command to, for instance, restart the TAT, adjust the TA, Para. 55, FIG. 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Malkamaki with the teachings of Dalsgaard in view of Dinan since Malkamaki provides a technique for a command to push an apparatus to a long DRX cycle and restart a TAT, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard in view of Dinan to permit a command to be utilized to restart a TAT for a new DRX cycle when needed.
In regard to Claim 16, as presented in the rejection of Claim 9, Dalsgaard in view of Dinan teaches the TAT.
Dalsgaard in view of Dinan fails to teach the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to: suspend the TAT in response to a starting of a non-active period of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation; and resume the TAT in response to a starting of an on-duration period of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation.
Malkamaki teaches the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to: suspend the TAT in response to a starting of a non-active period of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation; and resume the TAT in response to a starting of an on-duration period of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation (the new DRX command MAC CE may be a "long DRX command" MAC CE that pushes apparatus 10 directly to a long DRX cycle, as shown in FIG. 4. A new MAC CE may be included which combines the TA command and the new long DRX command to, for instance, restart the TAT, adjust the TA, Para. 55, FIG. 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Malkamaki with the teachings of Dalsgaard in view of Dinan since Malkamaki provides a technique for a command to push an apparatus to a long DRX cycle and restart a TAT, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard in view of Dinan to permit a command to be utilized to restart a TAT for a new DRX cycle when needed.
In regard to Claim 20, as presented in the rejection of Claim 17, Dalsgaard in view of Dinan teaches the TAT.
Dalsgaard in view of Dinan fails to teach the second RRC message further enables the UE to: suspend the TAT in response to a starting of a non-active period of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation; and resume the TAT in response to a starting of an on-duration period of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation.
Malkamaki teaches the second RRC message further enables the UE to: suspend the TAT in response to a starting of a non-active period of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation; and resume the TAT in response to a starting of an on-duration period of the cell DTX operation or the cell DRX operation (the new DRX command MAC CE may be a "long DRX command" MAC CE that pushes apparatus 10 directly to a long DRX cycle, as shown in FIG. 4. A new MAC CE may be included which combines the TA command and the new long DRX command to, for instance, restart the TAT, adjust the TA, Para. 55, FIG. 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Malkamaki with the teachings of Dalsgaard in view of Dinan since Malkamaki provides a technique for a command to push an apparatus to a long DRX cycle and restart a TAT, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Dalsgaard in view of Dinan to permit a command to be utilized to restart a TAT for a new DRX cycle when needed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
BERGQUIST (Pub. No.: US 20180317216 A1) teaches forgoing performing a procedure for handling an out-of-sync condition related to the expiration of the TAT (The UE may be synchronized (i.e. in-sync) and in discontinuous reception (DRX) mode at point 1, upon early DIAT (DRX Inactivity Timer) expiry. Early TAT (Time Alignment Timer) expiry at point 2 may transition the UE from in-sync to out-of-sync DRX mode. Early CIAT (Connection Inactivity) expiry, at point 3 may transition the UE from the RRC-Connected state to the RRC-Idle state. Dynamic DRX selection and synchronous DRX configuration changes, at points 4 and 5 respectively, may allow the UE to remain in the in-sync mode, Para. 73, FIG. 14).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSHUA Y SMITH whose telephone number is (571)270-1826. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 10:30am-7pm ET.
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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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Joshua Smith
/J.S./
8-17-2026
/GREGORY B SEFCHECK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477
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