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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDSs) submitted on January 15, 2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Applicant should note that the large number of references in the attached IDSs have been considered by the examiner in the same manner as other documents in Office search files are considered by the examiner while conducting a search of the prior art in a proper field of search. See MPEP 609.05(b). Applicant is invited to point out any particular reference(s) in the IDS that they believe may be of particular relevance to the instant claimed invention in response to this Office Action. It is desirable to avoid the submission of long lists of documents if it can be avoided. If a long list is submitted, highlight those documents which have been specifically brought to applicant’s attention and/or are known to be of most significance. See Penn Yan Boats, Inc. v. Sea Lark Boats, Inc., 359 F. Supp. 948, 175 USPQ 260 (S.D. Fla. 1972), aff ’d, 479 F.2d 1338, 178 USPQ 577 (5th Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 874 (1974). But cf. Molins PLC v. Textron Inc., 48 F.3d 1172, 33 USPQ2d 1823 (Fed. Cir. 1995).
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 6, 8 and 18-19 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Johansson et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20190223221, hereinafter “Johansson”).
.
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to Johansson unless otherwise mentioned.
With respect to independent claims:
Regarding claim 1, Johansson teaches A data transmission method, comprising:
transmitting, by a first terminal, target data to a network side device based on a common channel (para [0008]: The UE transmits a radio resource control (RRC) connection or resume request (MSG3) to the base station upon receiving a random-access response (MSG2). The RRC connection or resume request is bundled with uplink data. The UE re-attempts the RACH procedure with EDT (‘early data transmission’) upon a RACH failure.) (Fig. 3 and para [0034]: Accordingly, in step 313, UE 301 sends an RRC connection request or resume request message to BS 302 (MSG3). The MSG3 comprises bundled uplink data.) (para [0041]: In step 511, EDT configuration is broadcasted from BS 502 to UEs including UE 501.) (para [0042]: RRC Resume Request (with Resume ID) that is MAC multiplexed with a DRB PDU that contains UL Data is sent to BS 502 (MSG3).) (the UL Data is interpreted as “target data”) (para [0045]: NPRACH resource configuration is broadcasted in SIB2-NB for the anchor carrier and in SIB22-NB for the non-anchor carries. … BS broadcasts NPRACH resource for EDT configurations in the system information…) (para [0046]: the UE determines a NPRACH resource pool indicating the EDT, and randomly selects a NPRACH resource from the corresponding PRACH pool. UE transmits the PRACH preamble (MSG1) in the selected NPRACH resource. ) (Examiner’s comments: See paragraphs [0008, 0034, and 0041-0046], disclosing that the UE initiates a random-access channel (RACH) procedure by transmitting a preamble a preamble over a physical RACH (PRACH) resource and the base station broadcast NPRACH resource pool in the system information for UEs to randomly select from. This is interpreted as transmitting based on a “common channel” because the PRACH/NPRACH resource pool is shared among multiple UEs in the cell, therefore, the randomly selected NPRACH resource is interpreted as “a common channel”.), wherein the target data is non-control-plane data (para [0042]: In step 541, in user plane, UE 501 resumes Data Radio Bearers (DRBs) and Security Radio Bearers (SRBs) from the stored UE configuration. Except for SRBO and SRB1 for reception of RRC Connection Resume message, this was previously done after the UE receives RRC Connection Resume message and moves to RRC Connected mode. In step 542, in control plane, RRC Early Data request (with S-TMSI) with a NAS PDU that contains UL Data. RRC Resume Request (with Resume ID) that is MAC multiplexed with a DRB PDU that contains UL Data is sent to BS 502 (MSG3).) (the UL data is interpreted as “the target data is non-control-plane data” because the UL data constitutes user-plane or non-control-plane data);
the common channel is a channel for a terminal group to perform resource sharing, the terminal group comprises a plurality of terminals, and the plurality of terminals comprise the first terminal (para [0026]: FIG. 1 illustrates a user equipment (UE) supporting high reliability and early data transmission (EDT) for both uplink and downlink in a 4G/5G network 100 in accordance with one novel aspect… evolved Node-Bs (eNodeBs or eNBs) communicating with a plurality of mobile stations, referred as user equipments (UEs).) (para [0041]: In step 511, EDT configuration is broadcasted from BS 502 to UEs including UE 501 (interpreted as “the common channel is a channel for a terminal group to perform resource sharing”).)
Regarding claim 18, it is a data transmission method claim corresponding to the method claim 1, except limitations “receiving, by a network side device, , target data” (para [0009]: The base station receives a radio resource control (RRC) connection or resume request (MSG3) from the UE.) and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 19, it is a terminal claim corresponding to the method claim 1, except limitations “a processor and a memory” (Fig. 2 and para [0032]: UE 201 has memory 202, a processor 203) and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
With respect to dependent claims:
Regarding Claim 2, Johansson teaches The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting, by a first terminal, target data to a network side device based on a common channel comprises:
transmitting, by the first terminal, the target data to the network side device according to shared information or shared resource scheduling information, wherein the shared information comprises at least one of shared resource information or shared configuration information, and the shared resource scheduling information is used to obtain the shared resource information (para [0045]: FIG. 6 shows the NPRACH parameters in the system information. NPRACH resource configuration is broadcasted in SIB2-NB for the anchor carrier and in SIB22-NB for the non-anchor carries.) (para [0046]: the UE determines a NPRACH resource pool (interpreted as “the shared information comprises at least one of shared resource information or shared configuration information, and the shared resource scheduling information is used to obtain the shared resource information”) indicating the EDT, and randomly selects a NPRACH resource from the corresponding PRACH pool.).
Regarding Claim 3, Johansson teaches The method according to claim 2, wherein the shared information (Figs. 5-6, paragraphs [0019-20]: NPRACH parameters) comprises at least one of the following:
time domain information of a shared resource (Figs. 6-7: nprach-StartTime: Start time of the NPRACH resource in one period);
frequency domain information of the shared resource (Figs. 6-7: nprach-SubcarrierOffset: Frequency location of the NPRACH resource);
…
a transmission parameter used for the shared resource (Figs. 6-7: nprach-SubcarrierMSG3-RangeStart);
periodicity information of the shared resource (Figs. 6-7: nprach-Periodicity);
transport block size information of the shared resource (para [0047]: the maximum transport block size TBS broadcasted in system information);
…
reuse information of the shared resource (Figs. 6-7: numRepetitionsPerPreambeAttempt); or
…
(Fig. 6 and para [0045]: FIG. 6 shows the NPRACH parameters in the system information. NPRACH resource configuration is broadcasted in SIB2-NB for the anchor carrier and in SIB22-NB for the non-anchor carries. Up to three NPRACH repetitions can be configured to support different CE levels in a cell. To not collide with the NPRACH resource configuration to legacy UEs, the configuration on NPRACH resource for EDT should be independent to the legacy NPRACH resource configuration. An EDT NPRACH resource pool will associate to a certain TB size of MSG3, assuming the configuration is specific to a certain CE level with a certain NPRACH repetition level. NB-IOT uses different repetition levels to support different coverage levels. For example, for normal coverage, transmission of PRACH signal may repeat once; but for deep coverage, transmission of PRACH may repeat 32 times for the receiver to accumulate SNR for decoding. A new maximum TB size of MSG3 association field can be added in the NPRACH parameters, e.g., EDT-TBS. BS broadcasts NPRACH resource for EDT configurations in the system information, SIB2-NB for the anchor carrier and SIB22-NB for the non-anchor carriers similar to the legacy NB-IoT.). Figs. 6 and 7 of Johansson are reproduced hereinbelow.
PNG
media_image1.png
690
1275
media_image1.png
Greyscale
(Fig. 6 of Johansson)
PNG
media_image2.png
938
1336
media_image2.png
Greyscale
(Fig. 7 of Johansson)
Regarding Claim 6, Johansson teaches The method according to claim 2, wherein the method further comprises:
obtaining, by the first terminal, the shared information or the shared resource scheduling information transmitted by the network side device; wherein
the obtaining, by the first terminal (para [0041]: FIG. 5 illustrates a detailed message flow between a UE and a network for configuring and performing EDT with high reliability. In step 511, EDT configuration is broadcasted from BS 502 to UEs including UE 501 (the EDT configuration is interpreted as “shared information”). The EDT configuration comprises a MAX PDU size for EDT, and/or another transport block (TB) format parameter, and PRACH resources for UE to indicate the UE decision to use EDT.), the shared information or the shared resource scheduling information transmitted by the network side device comprises:
… or
receiving, by the first terminal, common signaling from the network side device, wherein the common signaling comprises the shared information or the shared resource scheduling information (para [0046]: BS broadcasts NPRACH resource for EDT configurations in the system information (the NPRACH resource for EDT configurations is interpreted as “the common signaling comprises the shared information or the shared resource scheduling information”), … the UE determines a NPRACH resource pool indicating the EDT, and randomly selects a NPRACH resource from the corresponding PRACH pool.)..
Regarding Claim 8, Johansson teaches The method according to claim 6, Johansson further teaches wherein a transmission trigger time of the RRC signaling is determined according to any one of the following:
…
a fourth time, wherein the fourth time is a time when an access network device determines to enable data plane transmission (para [0043]: Upon receiving the uplink data, BS 502 blindly detects the TB format (step 550) and interacts with the network including MME 503. During this period of time it is assumed that by BS or MME trigger, there will be a decision to send the UE either back to idle mode or to RRC connected. Depending on this decision, some of the steps in this period may not be needed. A possible reason for moving the UE to RRC connected mode could be e.g. that more data is expected in the UL or DL. In step 551, the initial UE Message with a NAS PDU that contains UL Data is sent to MME 503. In step 552, BS 502 acquires UE capabilities. This is needed if the UE is to continue in Connected mode. If instead the eNB receives an END marker indication from the MME, there is no more DL NAS transmission for the UE and the UE can be sent to Idle. In step 553, BS 502 acquires UE context by context fetch, if needed...) (para [0044]: Step 561 is MSG4. For EDT, the network can configure UE 501 to stay in RRC connected mode by messages control plane RRC Connection Setup or user plane RRC Connection Resume, or BS 502 can configure UE 501 to go back to RRC idle mode by control plane RRC Early Data Complete or by user plane RRC Release...).
Examiner’s comments: In Johansson, the transmission of the RRC signaling (e.g., RRC Connection Resume, RRC Early Data Complete, or RRC Release) is fundamentally triggered by the access network device (BS 502) following its determination to enable or finalized the data plane transmission path based on the UE’s context verification and the MME’s trigger. This constitutes the “fourth time,” wherein the access network device determines to enable data plane transmission (or transitions the UE to a state where such data plane transmission is finalized/enabled).
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) 7, 9, 11-17, and 20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johansson in view of Alfarhan et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20230164773, hereinafter “Alfarhan”).
Regarding Claim 7, Johansson teaches The method according to claim 6, wherein the method further comprises:
Johansson does not explicitly teach:
receiving, by the first terminal, an authentication success result, wherein the authentication success result indicates that the terminal is allowed to perform data plane reporting, or indicates that the first terminal is allowed to perform data transmission by using the shared information or the shared resource scheduling information.
While Johansson discloses that in step 561, the UE receives MSG4 such as ‘RRC Early Data Complete’ or ‘RRC Connection Resume’ (see Fig. 5 of Johansson), and explicitly discloses that NCC (‘Next Hop Changing Counter’) IE must be provided ‘in order to be able to perform EDT’ (see para [0044]). Johansson does not explicitly use the term “authentication success result” in the context of indicating that the terminal is allowed to perform data plane reporting, or the first terminal is allowed to perform data transmission.
However, Alfarhan discloses that in a wireless that in a wireless communication network, the core network node (e.g., AMF) is responsible for “authenticating users of the WTRUs” as a prerequisite for managing registration and mobility (para [0068] of Alfarhan). Furthermore, Alfarhan teaches that the transition from an inactive mode to a connected mode via an RRC connection resume request is contingent upon the network’s knowledge of the WTRU context, which explicitly includes the result of the aforementioned authentication procedure (see para [0261] of Alfarhan).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to combine the teaching of Johansson and Alfarhan. Specifically, one would have been motivated to associate the successful RRC Connection Resume message (as taught by Johansson) with the result of the authentication procedure performed by the AMF (as taught by Alfarhan). In the systems disclosed by Johansson and Alfarhan, the successful reception of an ‘RRC Connection Resume’ message containing security parameters (such as the NCC IE disclosed by Johansson) explicitly constitutes an “authentication success result.” This is because the network provides such security paraments only after the AMF has successfully performed its responsibility of “authenticating users” (para [0068] of Alfarhan) and confirmed the WTRU context (para [0261] of Alfarhan). Therefore, it would have been a matter of routine design choice to characterize the reception of said RRC signaling as receiving an “authentication success result” indicating that the terminal is authorized to perform data plane reporting or the first terminal is allowed to perform data transmission, as it represents the standard operational consequence of the successful user authentication procedure performed by the control node (AMF) in the disclosed wireless communication network.
Regarding Claim 9, Johansson teaches The method according to claim 6, Johansson fails to teach wherein the method further comprises at least one of the following:
in a case that the shared information is obtained from the common signaling, obtaining, by the first terminal, changed shared information by monitoring a paging message; or
…
Johansson discloses that the terminal obtains initial shared information via common signaling (see para [0041] : EDT configuration is broadcasted from BS 502 to UEs including UE 501. The EDT configuration comprises a MAX PDU size for EDT, and/or another transport block (TB) format parameter, and PRACH resources for UE to indicate the UE decision to use EDT.). This broadcast of EDT configuration via system information (SIB2-NB, SIB22-NB) constitutes obtaining “shared information from the common signaling”.
However, Johansson does not explicitly detail the procedure for updating this shared information (“in a case that the shared information is obtained from the common signaling, obtaining, by the first terminal, changed shared information by monitoring a paging message”)
Alfarhan address this by teaching the use of paging mechanisms to convey resource updates and subsequent scheduling information to UEs in inactive/idle sates. Specifically Alfarhan teaches that:
“The determination [of resources] may be made based on a paging message. WTRU may report CSI after reception of paging. A WTRU may receive a RAN paging or CN paging message, and a WTRU may determine the resources …” (see para [0244] of Alfarhan); and
“ In some methods, the WTRU may monitor a PDCCH for subsequent scheduling during the next ‘on’ duration configured for paging discontinuous reception (DRX),” (see para [0119] of Alfarhan).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to combine the teaching of Johansson and Alfarhan. While Johansson teaches the initial acquisition of shared EDT resource information via common signaling (broadcasting SIBs), Alfarhan provides the motivation and the technical mechanism to update or refine such resource information using the paging channel (message). Alfarhan explicitly confirms that a WTRU determines transmission resource based on the reception of a paging message (para [0244] of Alfarhan) and monitors paging for subsequent scheduling updates (see para [0119] of Alfarhan). Therefore, it would have been a matter of routine system design to incorporate the paging-based notification and monitoring method of Alfarhan into the EDT procedure of Johansson. This combination allows for a dynamic and synchronized update of the shared information initially provide by Johansson’s common signaling, which is a standard operational requirement for any wireless system managing shared resources. The resulting method-monitoring a paging message to obtain changed shared information-is a predictable adaptation of existing 3GPP signaling procedure, which provides no unexpected results.
Regarding Claim 11, Johansson teaches The method according to claim 2, wherein the transmitting, by a first terminal, target data to a network side device based on a common channel comprises:
in a case that the first terminal is in the validity region corresponding to the shared information or the shared resource scheduling information, transmitting, by the first terminal, the target data on a data plane to the network side device according to the shared information or the shared resource scheduling information (Fig. 3 and para [0034]: Accordingly, in step 313, UE 301 sends an RRC connection request or resume request message to BS 302 (MSG3). The MSG3 comprises bundled uplink data.) (para [0041]: In step 511, EDT configuration is broadcasted from BS 502 to UEs including UE 501.) (para [0042]: RRC Resume Request (with Resume ID) that is MAC multiplexed with a DRB PDU that contains UL Data is sent to BS 502 (MSG3).) (the UL Data is interpreted as “target data”) (para [0046]: the UE determines a NPRACH resource pool indicating the EDT, and randomly selects a NPRACH resource from the corresponding PRACH pool. UE transmits the PRACH preamble (MSG1) in the selected NPRACH resource.) (The missing/crossed out limitations will be discussed in view of Alfarhan.);
Johansson fails to explicitly teach:
wherein before the transmitting, by a first terminal, target data to a network side device based on a common channel, the method further comprises:
obtaining, by the first terminal, an uplink synchronization variable, wherein the uplink synchronization variable comprises any one of the following:
a default value;
in a case that the first terminal is in a connected state, the first terminal maintains an obtained uplink synchronization variable; or
in a case that the first terminal is in an idle state or an inactive state, the first terminal obtains the uplink synchronization variable in a two-step random access manner or a four-step random access manner;
wherein the uplink synchronization variable comprises at least a timing advance (TA).
Alfarhan teaches:
in a case that the first terminal is in the validity region corresponding to the shared information or the shared resource scheduling information, transmitting, by the first terminal, the target data … (para [0201] of Alfarhan: In some cases, the WTRU may receive a configuration (e.g. by broadcast or RRC signaling) whether small data transmission is applicable on the cell for one or more configured grants in idle and/or inactive modes. Such configuration can be either dedicated (per Cell ID, and in HO command) or provided by broadcast system information signalling.) (para [0224] of Alfarhan: In some cases, such as when a WTRU is mobile, small data transmissions may be performed with or without anchor relocation. If a WTRU moves around while in idle or inactive mode and changes coverage area (RAN paging area), the WTRU may transmit a packet in a new coverage area, possibly if certain conditions are met. The WTRU may transmit data to the target nodeB if the WTRU context is kept or maintained at the target nodeB.)
…
wherein before the transmitting, by a first terminal, target data to a network side device based on a common channel, the method further comprises:
obtaining, by the first terminal, an uplink synchronization variable (para [0218] of Alfarhan: For example, a WTRU may maintain a TA timer for the maintenance of the TA (e.g., in inactive/idle states) and/or for determining whether a CG can be used for small data transmission. The WTRU may start, or restart, the TA timer upon receiving a TA command (e.g., in a MAC CE), upon transitioning into inactive state, and/or upon receiving a TA command as part of a RA procedure (e.g., in Msg2 (interpreted as “before the transmitting… target data, … obtaining … un uplink synchronization variable (‘TA’)” )… The WTRU may assume the CG to be valid for small data transmission while the TA timer is running (e.g., not expired).), wherein the uplink synchronization variable comprises any one of the following:
a default value (para [0204] of Alfarhan: receiving a TA value,);
in a case that the first terminal is in a connected state, the first terminal maintains an obtained uplink synchronization variable (para [0217] of Alfarhan: The WTRU may maintain the TA value last used upon transitioning from connected mode.); or
in a case that the first terminal is in an idle state or an inactive state, the first terminal obtains the uplink synchronization variable in a two-step random access manner or a four-step random access manner (para [0218] of Alfarhan: The WTRU may start, or restart, the TA timer upon receiving a TA command (e.g., in a MAC CE), upon transitioning into inactive state, and/or upon receiving a TA command as part of a RA procedure (e.g., in Msg2 or MsgB).);
wherein the uplink synchronization variable comprises at least a timing advance (TA) (para [0218] of Alfarhan: The WTRU may start, or restart, the TA timer upon receiving a TA command ...).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to combine the teaching of Johansson and Alfarhan. The “validity region” check is not a novel technical step but the standard verification process every terminal performs when reselecting a cell or checking System information validity. A POSITA would naturally incorporate this check before transmitting target data to ensure the transmission uses the correct, validate resource configuration, as suggested by the mobility management principles in Alfarhan (see paragraphs [0201 and 0224] of Alfarhan). The choice of TA acquisition method is a deterministic operational requirement defined by the terminal’s RRC state in 3GPP standards, A POSITA would have known that maintaining TA (synchronization) is required for connected-mode stability, while a RACH procedure is mandatory to acquire initial synchronization in an idle/inactive state (see para [0218] of Alfarhan). The claimed method represents a routine integration of well-known wireless communication principles. The combination of Johansson and Alfarhan provides all necessary teachings to perform these steps, rendering the claimed method obvious.
Regarding Claim 12, Johansson teaches The method according to claim 1, Johansson fails to teach: wherein in a case that the target data comprises a single data packet, a transport block used to carry the target data further comprises a first indicator field and/or a second indicator field, the first indicator field indicates a length of the target data, and the second indicator field indicates padding information in the transport block; or in a case that the target data comprises a plurality of data packets, the plurality of data packets are distinguished by using length indication information LI.
Alfarhan teaches: in a case that the target data comprises a plurality of data packets, the plurality of data packets are distinguished by using length indication information LI (para [0116] of Alfarhan: a WTRU may indicate in a small data transmission opportunity that a small data packet is part of a segment. The WTRU may also indicate how many remaining packets are required to be transmitted. The indication may be carried in part of a MAC CE or in a protocol data unit (PDU) itself (the “indicating how many remaining packets are required to be transmitted” carried in PDU itself is interpreted as “length indication information LI”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to apply the packet identification mechanism taught by Alfarhan to the EDT framework of Johansson. Using a “Length Indication” or a “remaining packet count” within a PDU or MAC CE-as explicitly taught in para [0116] of Alfarhan-is a predictable design choice in 3GPP wireless communication protocols. There is no unexpected result from incorporating this well-known packet distinguishing mechanism into Johansson’s EDT procedure.
Regarding Claim 13, Johansson teaches The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting, by a first terminal, target data to a network side device based on a common channel comprises:
Johansson teaches: for the target data, in a case that the first terminal needs to perform a plurality of data transmissions, performing, by the first terminal, a first transmission to the network side device based on the common channel (Fig. 3 and para [0034]: Accordingly, in step 313, UE 301 sends an RRC connection request or resume request message to BS 302 (MSG3). The MSG3 comprises bundled uplink data.) (para [0041]: In step 511, EDT configuration is broadcasted from BS 502 to UEs including UE 501.) (para [0042]: RRC Resume Request (with Resume ID) that is MAC multiplexed with a DRB PDU that contains UL Data is sent to BS 502 (MSG3).) (the UL Data is interpreted as “target data”); and
Johansson fails to teach “in a case that the first transmission succeeds and the first terminal receives a temporary radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) or a temporary identifier (ID) fed back by the network side device, performing, by the first terminal, a subsequent transmission in the plurality of data transmissions other than the first transmission based on the temporary RNTI or the temporary ID”
Alfarhan teaches the “in a case that the first transmission succeeds and the first terminal receives a temporary radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) or a temporary identifier (ID) fed back by the network side device, performing, by the first terminal, a subsequent transmission in the plurality of data transmissions other than the first transmission based on the temporary RNTI or the temporary ID” (para [0234] of Alfarhan: Conditions for successful small data transfer may include reception of Msg4, possibly with I-RNTI or RNTI provided in MsgA or Msg3. … Conditions for successful small data transfer may include, for example, the WTRU determining it has no further small data to transmit from the buffer status, based on not sending a request to transmit further subsequent small data,).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to combine the teaching of Johansson and Alfarhan. The step-using a received temporary RNTI to perform subsequent transmissions following a successful initial transmission-is the standard operation protocol defined in the MAC/PHY specifications. A POSITA would find it obvious to apply this temporary ID-based scheduling mechanism taught by Alfarhan to the EDT framework taught by Johansson to ensure reliability and unique identification of the terminal for multi-packet transmissions.
Regarding Claim 14, Johansson and Alfarhan teach The method according to claim 13, wherein the method further comprises: Alfarhan further teaches:
transmitting, by the first terminal, a buffer status report (BSR) to the network side device, wherein the BSR is used to notify the network side device of an amount of to-be-transmitted data in the first terminal (para [0115] of Alfarhan: In some solutions, a WTRU may indicate to a NodeB (e.g., an eNodeB or gNB) that a small data packet is part of a segmented packet. The WTRU may also indicate the need for a subsequent grant to transmit small data or to indicate the amount of remaining small data buffered. possibly via one or a combination of several methods. In some methods, a WTRU may transmit, for instance, in MsgA or Msg3, a BSR indicating to the network the amount of small data to be transmitted.); and
a transmission occasion of the BSR comprises at least one of the following:
the first transmission in the plurality of data transmissions on the common channel (para [0114] of Alfarhan: the WTRU may segment an SDU and transmit the segments over multiple small data transmission opportunities. For example, an upper later IP packet may have multiple SDUs, and an earlier SDU may possibly indicate that a subsequent SDU is part of a same IP packet.) (para [0115] of Alfarhan: In some solutions, a WTRU may indicate to a NodeB (e.g., an eNodeB or gNB) that a small data packet is part of a segmented packet. The WTRU may also indicate the need for a subsequent grant to transmit small data or to indicate the amount of remaining small data buffered. possibly via one or a combination of several methods. In some methods, a WTRU may transmit, for instance, in MsgA or Msg3, a BSR indicating to the network the amount of small data to be transmitted.); …
Regarding Claim 15, Johansson teaches The method according to claim 1, Johansson fails to explicitly teach wherein in a case that the target data is transmitted to the network side device through a plurality of data transmissions, a plurality of data packets in the plurality of data transmissions are associatively identified by using at least one of the following: a local terminal identifier; an identifier randomly allocated by the network side device; a sequence number (SN); a packet number field, wherein the packet number field is located in at least one first data packet, and the first data packet belongs to the plurality of data packets; or a second timer, wherein the second timer is started when the network side device receives a second data packet, the second data packet is transmitted on a first resource, or the second data packet carries the local identifier of the first terminal, and a timeout of the second timer represents that reception of a data packet associated with the second data packet ends.
Alfarhan teaches:
wherein in a case that the target data is transmitted to the network side device through a plurality of data transmissions (para [0114] of Alfarhan: the WTRU may segment an SDU and transmit the segments over multiple small data transmission opportunities. For example, an upper later IP packet may have multiple SDUs, and an earlier SDU may possibly indicate that a subsequent SDU is part of a same IP packet.), a plurality of data packets in the plurality of data transmissions are associatively identified by using at least one of the following:
…
a packet number field, wherein the packet number field is located in at least one first data packet, and the first data packet belongs to the plurality of data packets (para [0114] of Alfarhan: For example, an upper later IP packet may have multiple SDUs, and an earlier SDU may possibly indicate that a subsequent SDU is part of a same IP packet.) (para [0116] of Alfarhan: a WTRU may indicate in a small data transmission opportunity that a small data packet is part of a segment. The WTRU may also indicate how many remaining packets are required to be transmitted. The indication may be carried in part of a MAC CE or in a protocol data unit (PDU) itself.) ; …
Alfarhan explicitly provides the mechanism for handling data that requires multiple transmissions (segmentation) and how these packets are associatively identified (see paragraphs [0114-0118] of Alfarhan).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to combine the EDT transmission framework of Johansson with the packet segmentation and identification mechanism of Alfarhan. To efficiently transmit a large payload without aborting the procedure or reverting to legacy RRC connection establishment, a POSITA would naturally incorporated a segmentation protocol. Applying Alfarhan’s teaching to insert packet sequence indicator (“how many remaining packets are required to be transmitted”) into the data packet (“in a PDU itself”, see para’) ensures that the network side device can associatively identify the segments and know when the multi-packet transmission is complete (see paragraphs [0114-0118] of Alfarhan).
Regarding Claim 16, Johansson teaches The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting, by a first terminal, target data to a network side device based on a common channel (Fig. 3 and para [0034]: Accordingly, in step 313, UE 301 sends an RRC connection request or resume request message to BS 302 (MSG3). The MSG3 comprises bundled uplink data.) (para [0041]: In step 511, EDT configuration is broadcasted from BS 502 to UEs including UE 501.) (para [0042]: RRC Resume Request (with Resume ID) that is MAC multiplexed with a DRB PDU that contains UL Data is sent to BS 502 (MSG3).) (the UL Data is interpreted as “target data”) comprises:
Johansson fails to teach “in a case that data transmission on the common channel comprises a single data transmission on the common channel and a plurality of data transmissions on the common channel, performing, by the first terminal, any one of the following: …”
Alfarhan teaches:
in a case that data transmission on the common channel comprises a single data transmission on the common channel and a plurality of data transmissions on the common channel, performing, by the first terminal, any one of the following:
in a case that a data amount of the target data is less than a third threshold, transmitting, by the first terminal, the target data based on the single data transmission on the common channel (para [0253] of Alfarhan: the WTRU 102 may consider whether the amount of all the UL SDT data present in the buffer is less than the first threshold) (para [0114] of Alfarhan: If a small data packet is too large for a selected (or any) transmission method or methods, or if the amount of buffered small data applicable for transmission on a given resource is higher than the supported/configured transport block size (TBS) of a PUSCH resource, the WTRU may segment an SDU and transmit the segments over multiple small data transmission opportunities.)(Examiner’s comments: Alfarhan explicitly teaches the rule: if the data volume exceeds a threshold (TBS), segment the data for multiple transmission (para [0114] of Alfarhan). By mathematical and functional necessity, the inverse logic is explicit to this protocol: if the data volume is less than or equal to the threshold (as checked in para [0253] of Alfarhan), the data is not segmented and is therefore transmitted in a single data transmission. A PHOSITA would recognize that the sending data in a “single transmission” when it is smaller than a TBS is the default.);
in a case that the data amount of the target data is greater than a fourth threshold, transmitting, by the first terminal, the target data based on the plurality of data transmissions on the common channel (para [0114] of Alfarhan: Solutions involving segmentation of service data units (SDUs) and transmitting such segments in subsequent transmissions are described herein. If a small data packet is too large for a selected (or any) transmission method or methods, or if the amount of buffered small data applicable for transmission on a given resource is higher than the supported/configured transport block size (TBS) of a PUSCH resource (interpreted as “a fourth threshold”), the WTRU may segment an SDU and transmit the segments over multiple small data transmission opportunities (interpreted as “the target data based on the plurality of data transmissions”). For example, an upper later IP packet may have multiple SDUs, and an earlier SDU may possibly indicate that a subsequent SDU is part of a same IP packet.); …
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to combine the EDT transmission framework of Johansson with the threshold-based packet segmentation logic of Alfarhan. In Johansson’s EDT system, terminal handle varying amounts of uplink data. To efficiently utilize the limited capacity of common channel resources (like Msg3), a POSITA must implement a protocol to handle data that both fits and does not fit within a TBS (see para [0045-0046 of Johansson]. The operation of choosing a single data transmission when the data amount is less than a specific threshold is a standard communication design choice explicitly derived from the segmentation rules taught by Alfarhan.
Regarding Claim 17, Johansson teaches The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:
Johansson fails to teach “in a case that a first state that the first terminal is currently in conflicts with target data transmission on the common channel that currently needs to be performed, determining, by the first terminal according to at least one of the following, whether to process the first state or process the target data transmission on the common channel: …”
Alfarhan teaches:
in a case that a first state that the first terminal is currently in conflicts with target data transmission on the common channel that currently needs to be performed (para [0123] of Alfarhan: In some cases, a WTRU may be configured for transmission or reception of small data in a state other than connected state (interpreted as “in conflicts with target data transmission”), such as an inactive or idle state.), determining, by the first terminal according to at least one of the following, whether to process the first state or process the target data transmission on the common channel :
the first terminal performs determining autonomously, wherein the first state comprises a connected state, an idle state, or an inactive state (para [0123] of Alfarhan: The WTRU may determine to initiate a procedure for transitioning to a connected state (interpreted as “the first terminal performs determining autonomously”), such as when performing RRC connection establishment or RRC connection resume procedures based on at least one trigger.);
Alfarhan explicitly defines the RRC state-dependent behaviors for terminals. The feature “performs determining autonomously” in the context of connected, idle, or inactive states is explicitly disclosed by Alfarhan. Under the Broadest Reasonable Interpretation (BRI), the “determining autonomously” of whether to initiate a procedure (such as RRC connection establishment/resume or EDT) based on a trigger, as taught in para [0123] of Alfarhan, encompasses the “autonomous determination” of prioritizing transmission procedures when a conflict arises between RRC state maintenance and data transmission.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to combine the EDT transmission framework of Johansson with the teaching of Alfarhan. Since Alfarhan explicitly teaches that a termina autonomously determines its RRC state transition procedure based on triggers, it is obvious to a POSITA to apply the same autonomous decision-making principle to resolve scheduling conflicts between RRC state maintenance (connected/idle/inactive) and common channel transmission.
Regarding claim 20, it is a network side device claim corresponding to the method claim 18, except limitations “A network side device (Figs. 1, 3-5: Base Station (‘BS’), comprising a processor and a memory,”), and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Johansson does not explicitly teach “A network side device, comprising a processor and a memory” as recited in claim 20.
Alfarhan explicitly teaches the hardware implementation of such network side device (para [0297] of Alfarhan: Examples of computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.)(para [0299] of Alfarhan: These devices may contain at least one Central Processing Unit (“CPU”) and memory. In accordance with the practices of persons skilled in the art of computer programming, reference to acts and symbolic representations of operations or instructions may be performed by the various CPUs and memories. Such acts and operations or instructions may be referred to as being “executed,” “computer executed” or “CPU executed.”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to implement the data transmission method of Johansson using the specific hardware platform taught by Alfarhan.
Claim(s) 4 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johansson in view of Cao et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20170064700, hereinafter “Cao”).
Regarding Claim 4, Johansson teaches The method according to claim 2, Johansson fails to teaches:
wherein the shared resource scheduling information comprises terminal group scheduling information, and the terminal group scheduling information comprises at least one of the following:
terminal group scheduling configuration information; or
group scheduling configuration change information of the terminal group, wherein the group scheduling configuration change information indicates that the terminal group scheduling configuration information is changed;
wherein the terminal group scheduling configuration information comprises at least one of a group scheduling identifier, a periodicity parameter of group scheduling, a transmission parameter used for group scheduling, or validity region information corresponding to group scheduling, and there is at least one validity region corresponding to the group scheduling.
Cao teaches:
wherein the shared resource scheduling information comprises terminal group scheduling information, and the terminal group scheduling information comprises at least one of the following:
terminal group scheduling configuration information (Claim 16 of Cao: wherein the scheduling control information comprises group based scheduling information, wherein the group based scheduling information comprises a group identification assigned to the first MTCD and a position index within a group of MTCDs, wherein the base station schedules a resource assignment for each group of MTCDs by specifying the group identification.); …
wherein the terminal group scheduling configuration information comprises at least one of a group scheduling identifier (Claim 16 of Cao: wherein the group based scheduling information comprises a group identification assigned to the first MTCD and a position index within a group of MTCDs, ...), …
Cao teaches that a base station schedules resource assignments for a group of terminals (MTCDs) by specifying a Group ID (GID) (see paragraphs [0084 and 0086] and claim 16 of Cao):
(para [0084] of Cao: …Thereafter, scheduling control information can be sent to inform the MTCD of the sub-frames that the MTCD should use for uplink transmission. This control information can include one or more of the terminal identification (ID) information (e.g., an MTCD temporal ID or an MTCD group ID),); and
(para [0086] of Cao: group based scheduling can significantly reduce the scheduling information that is broadcast to the MTCDs. FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate a proposed method 800 for group based resource assignment for MTC. In an initial access process 810, an AP 820 assigns a group ID (GID) to an MTCD 830 along with a position index within the group (step 840) to define the relative position of the resources that the MTCD 830 uses with respect to the resources assigned to the group. In a scheduling process 850, instead of explicitly scheduling each terminal, the AP 820 schedules the resource assignment for each group by specifying the group ID (GID) assigned in the initial attachment process and the associated resource assignment (step 860).).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to combine the EDT transmission framework of Johansson with the group-based scheduling mechanism of Cao. A POSITA would find it a routine design choice to integrate the “group scheduling configuration information” (GID) as taught in Cao into the EDT procedure of Johansson, By applying the group-based scheduling taught by Cao to Johansson’s system, the network can efficiently manage multiple terminals attempting EDT, thereby reducing signaling overhead and optimizing common channel utilization. This is a predictable application of established resource-management techniques.
Claim(s) 5 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johansson in view of Faniuolo et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20100296450, hereinafter “Faniuolo”).
Regarding Claim 5, Johansson teaches The method according to claim 1, Johansson fails to teach:
wherein the target data transmitted based on the common channel does not carry or correspond to identity identification information, and the identity identification information is used to identify the first terminal.
Faniuolo teaches the “wherein the target data transmitted based on the common channel does not carry or correspond to identity identification information, and the identity identification information is used to identify the first terminal” (para [0004] of Faniuolo: the packet to be transmitted over the channel will be encoded with a revised format in which no identifiers are provided) (para [0006] of Faniuolo: Accordingly, it can be seen that the packet can be transmitted without the identifier and the information element can still be extracted. This reduces the size of the packet and saves the additional overhead which would otherwise be incurred by including the identifier.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to configure the target data transmission in the framework of Johansson to omit explicit identification identifiers as taught by Faniuolo, in order to achieve the predictable result of minimizing signaling overhead and optimizing packet size.
Claim(s) 10 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johansson in view of Sarkis et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20210051737, hereinafter “Sarkis”).
Regarding Claim 10, Johansson teaches The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting, by a first terminal, target data to a network side device based on a common channel comprises:
determining, by the first terminal according to an action trigger time of the target data, a target resource from shared resources corresponding to the shared information (para [0046]: If all can be transmitted in one TB (interpreted as “an action trigger time”), the UE determines a NPRACH resource pool indicating the EDT, and randomly selects a NPRACH resource from the corresponding PRACH pool.); and
transmitting, by the first terminal, the target data to the network side device based on the target resource (Fig. 3 and para [0034]: Accordingly, in step 313, UE 301 sends an RRC connection request or resume request message to BS 302 (MSG3). The MSG3 comprises bundled uplink data.) (para [0042]: RRC Resume Request (with Resume ID) that is MAC multiplexed with a DRB PDU that contains UL Data is sent to BS 502 (MSG3).) (the UL Data is interpreted as “target data”); wherein
Johansson fails to teach wherein the determining, according to an action trigger time of the target data, a target resource from shared resources corresponding to the shared information comprises any one of the following: …
Sarkis teaches: wherein
the determining, according to an action trigger time of the target data, a target resource from shared resources corresponding to the shared information comprises any one of the following:
determining a shared resource in the shared resources corresponding to the shared information that is closest to the action trigger time of the target data as the target resource (para [0109] of Sarkis: In some examples, for the first or first Y transmissions, the UE may select the earliest available resource as described above in connection with FIG. 11 to reduce packet latency. The value of Y may be specified in the communication standards, configured by the network, determined based on transmission priority, or determined based on the total number of transmissions. If multiple available resources start at the same time, the UE may randomly select among these resources. … In some examples, for all transmissions (first transmission and retransmissions), the UE may select the earliest available resource within the contention window.); or
determining a time window that is closest to the action trigger time of the target data, and selecting, from the shared resources corresponding to the shared information, at least one shared resource with time domain information located in the time window as the target resource (para [0018] of Sarkis: In some examples, selecting the communication resources for the initial transmission can include selecting earliest available communication resources in the first CW or randomly selecting available communication resources in the first CW. In some examples, selecting the communication resources for the retransmission can include selecting earliest available communication resources in the second CW or randomly selecting available communication resources in the second CW.).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) at the time of instant application to combine the EDT transmission framework of Johansson with the resource selection logic of Sarkis. In Johansson’s EDT system, once the terminal has determined the resource pool, it faces the problem of selecting a specific resource to transmit data. To optimize performance and reduce latency the POSITA would naturally implement a refined resource selection algorithm. Applying the “earliest available resource” or “time window-based selection” is a well-known technical measure in wireless communication to ensure that data transmission occurs as promptly as possible relative to the data generation/preparation (trigger) time. This combination does not produce any unexpected results and represents a standard implementation of latency-sensitive scheduling.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WON JUN CHOI whose telephone number is (703)756-1695. The examiner can normally be reached MON-FRI 08:00 - 17:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Derrick W Ferris can be reached at 571-272-3123. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/WON JUN CHOI/Examiner, Art Unit 2411
/DERRICK W FERRIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2411
Prosecution Insights