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 .
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.
Claims 1-4, 7-9, 15-17 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(A)(1) as being anticipated by Takeda et al. (U.S. PGPub 2019/0059121), hereinafter referred to as Takeda.
Regarding claim 1, Takeda discloses a communication method, comprising:
sending, by a terminal (user device; See Fig. 2), first information to a first node, wherein the first information is used to indicate that the terminal requests a data plane (DP)-oriented connection (the RRC processor 103 sets the establishment cause reported from the NAS processor 104 in a radio connection establishment request (RRC connection request), and transmits the radio connection establishment request to the base station eNB; See [0072] and [0088]), wherein
the first information comprises first indication information (the RRC processor 103 may be configured to set only the establishment cause reported from the NAS processor 104 in the radio connection establishment request (RRC connection request); See [0072] and [0088]); and
the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following:
an establishment reason for the DP-oriented connection (the RRC processor 103 may be configured to set only the establishment cause reported from the NAS processor 104 in the radio connection establishment request (RRC connection request); See [0072] and [0088]); or
a type of the DP-oriented connection.
Regarding claim 2, Takeda further discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the sending first information to a first node comprises one of the following:
sending, by the terminal, a first message to the first node, wherein the first message is used to request a network side device to establish the DP-oriented connection, and the first message comprises the first information (the RRC processor 103 sets the establishment cause reported from the NAS processor 104 in a radio connection establishment request (RRC connection request), and transmits the radio connection establishment request to the base station eNB; See [0072] and [0088]); or
sending, by the terminal, an RRC connection establishment complete message to the first node, wherein the RRC connection establishment complete message comprises the first information.
Regarding claim 3, Takeda further discloses the method according to claim 2, wherein the sending a first message to the first node comprises one of the following:
actively triggering, by the terminal, sending of the first message to the first node (Next, the user device UE determines that an establishment cause indicating transmission of the exceptional data needs to be set in a radio connection establishment request (RRC connection request) to be transmitted to the base station eNB (S12). Next, the user device UE transmits, to the base station eNB, the radio connection establishment request where the establishment cause determined at step S12 is set (S13); See [0040]); or
sending, by the terminal, the first message to the first node based on a received first notification message sent by the first node.
Regarding claim 7, Takeda further discloses the method according to claim 2, wherein the first message further comprises third indication information (the NAS processor 104 reports “delayTolerantAccess” to the RRC processor 103 as an establishment cause to be set in an RRC connection request; See [0084]), the third indication information is used to indicate an establishment reason for a first connection (“delayTolerantAccess” to the RRC processor 103 as an establishment cause to be set in an RRC connection request; See [0084]) or a type of the first connection, and the first connection is another connection different from the DP-oriented connection (delayTolerantAccess vs exception data identifier; See [0084]).
Regarding claim 8, Takeda further discloses the method according to claim 2, wherein after the sending a first message to the first node, the method further comprises:
receiving, by the terminal, a second message sent by the first node, wherein the second message comprises configuration information for a first bearer corresponding to the DP-oriented connection (When receiving the radio connection establishment request, the base station eNB recognizes that the exceptional data is to be transmitted by referring to the establishment cause set in the radio connection establishment request, determines that an RRC connection needs to be established with the user device UE in preference to other user devices UE, and transmits a radio connection establishment response (RRC connection setup) to the user device UE (S14); See [0041]), and the first bearer is a first radio bearer or a first signaling radio bearer (RRC connection setup implies the RRC bearer); and
sending, by the terminal, a third message to the first node, wherein the third message is used to indicate that establishment of the DP-oriented connection is complete (The user device UE transmits a radio connection establishment complete (RRC connection setup complete) to the base station eNB (S15); See [0041]).
Regarding claim 9, Takeda further discloses the method according to claim 8, wherein the second message comprises identification information for DP communication (transmits a radio connection establishment response (RRC connection setup) to the user device UE (S14), wherein one of ordinary skill in the art knows that the response contains identification information; See [0041]); or,
wherein the first bearer is used for at least one of the following:
transmission of DP-related control information; or
transmission of DP service data; or,
wherein the second message further comprises:
configuration information corresponding to a second signaling radio bearer, wherein the second signaling radio bearer is used for transmission other than transmission of control information of the DP-oriented connection; or,
wherein the third message comprises:
a connection type of the DP-oriented connection established by the terminal,
wherein the connection type comprises one of the following:
the DP-oriented connection is terminated at an access network side; or
the DP-oriented connection is terminated at a core network side; or,
wherein the third message comprises:
fourth indication information, wherein the fourth indication information is used to indicate other connection types, wherein
the other connection types comprise at least one of the following:
a DP connection type of data; or
a DP connection type of control; or,
wherein the third message comprises:
identification information of a second node, wherein the second node is a data plane function (DPF) node or a data plane control function (DPF-C) node; and
identification information of a public land mobile network (PLMN) selected for access by the terminal.
Regarding claim 15, Takeda discloses a communication method, comprising:
receiving, by a first node (base station; See Fig. 1), first information sent by a terminal, wherein the first information is used to indicate that the terminal requests a data plane DP-oriented connection, wherein the first information comprises first indication information (the RRC processor 103 sets the establishment cause reported from the NAS processor 104 in a radio connection establishment request (RRC connection request), and transmits the radio connection establishment request to the base station eNB; See [0072] and [0088]); and
the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following:
an establishment reason for the DP-oriented connection (the RRC processor 103 may be configured to set only the establishment cause reported from the NAS processor 104 in the radio connection establishment request (RRC connection request); See [0072] and [0088]); or
a type of the DP-oriented connection.
Regarding claim 16, Takeda further discloses the method according to claim 15, wherein the first node is an access network device (base station; See Fig. 1);
wherein the receiving first information sent by a terminal comprises one of the following:
receiving, by the first node, a first message sent by the terminal, wherein the first message is used to request a network side to establish the DP-oriented connection, and the first message comprises the first information (the RRC processor 103 sets the establishment cause reported from the NAS processor 104 in a radio connection establishment request (RRC connection request), and transmits the radio connection establishment request to the base station eNB; See [0072] and [0088]); or
receiving, by the first node, an RRC connection establishment complete message sent by the terminal, wherein the RRC connection establishment complete message comprises the first information.
Regarding claim 17, Takeda further discloses the method according to claim 16, wherein the first message further comprises third indication information, the third indication information is used to indicate an establishment reason for a first connection or a type of the first connection, and the first connection is another connection different from the DP-oriented connection; or,
wherein after the receiving a first message sent by the terminal, the method further comprises:
sending, by the first node, a second message to the terminal, wherein the second message comprises configuration information for a first bearer corresponding to the DP-oriented connection (When receiving the radio connection establishment request, the base station eNB recognizes that the exceptional data is to be transmitted by referring to the establishment cause set in the radio connection establishment request, determines that an RRC connection needs to be established with the user device UE in preference to other user devices UE, and transmits a radio connection establishment response (RRC connection setup) to the user device UE (S14); See [0041]), and the first bearer is a first radio bearer or a first signaling radio bearer (RRC connection setup implies the RRC bearer); and
receiving, by the first node, a third message sent by the terminal, wherein the third message is used to indicate that establishment of the DP-oriented connection is complete (The user device UE transmits a radio connection establishment complete (RRC connection setup complete) to the base station eNB (S15); See [0041]); or,
wherein after the receiving an RRC connection establishment complete message sent by the terminal, the method further comprises:
sending, by the first node, a fourth message to the terminal, wherein the fourth message comprises configuration information for a first bearer corresponding to the DP-oriented connection, and the first bearer is a first radio bearer or a first signaling radio bearer;
wherein in a case that the first bearer is the first signaling radio bearer, the method further comprises at least one of the following:
sending, by the first node, configuration information for a first data plane data radio bearer to the terminal, wherein the configuration information comprises sixth indication information, and the sixth indication information is used to indicate that the first data plane data radio bearer is terminated at an access network side; or
sending, by the first node, configuration information for a second data plane data radio bearer to the terminal, wherein the configuration information comprises eighth indication information, and the eighth indication information is used to indicate that the second data plane data radio bearer is terminated at a core network side.
Regarding claim 19, Takeda discloses a terminal (user device; See Fig. 2), comprising a processor (RRC or NAS processor; See Fig. 3, #103 and #104) and a memory (memory; See Fig. 5, #322 or #323), wherein the memory stores a program or instructions capable of running on the processor, when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the communication method according to claim 1 are implemented (the RRC processor 103 sets the establishment cause reported from the NAS processor 104 in a radio connection establishment request (RRC connection request), and transmits the radio connection establishment request to the base station eNB; See [0072] and [0088]).
Regarding claim 20, Takeda discloses a communication node (base station; See Fig. 1), wherein the communication node is a first node and comprises a processor (RRC processor; See Fig. 4, #203) and a memory (memory; See Fig. 6, #422 or #423), wherein the memory stores a program or instructions capable of running on the processor, when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the method according to claim 15 are implemented (the RRC processor 103 sets the establishment cause reported from the NAS processor 104 in a radio connection establishment request (RRC connection request), and transmits the radio connection establishment request to the base station eNB; See [0072] and [0088]).
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhu et al. (U.S. PGPub 2020/0374956), hereinafter referred to as Zhu.
Regarding claim 18, Zhu discloses a communication method, comprising:
sending, by a first node (home access gateway; See Fig. 4), a request message to a second node (CPE; See Fig. 4), wherein the request message is used to request to obtain configuration information for communication of a terminal over an established DP connection (The home access gateway sends first configuration information to the CPE; See Fig. 4, #110 and [0559]), and the second node is a data plane function (DPF) node or a data plane control function (DPF-C) node (CPE; See Fig. 4); and
receiving, by the first node, the configuration information, sent by the second node, for communication of the terminal over the established DP connection (CPE sends a first configuration complete message to the home access gateway; See [0583]).
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.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takeda as applied to claim 3 above, and further in view of Peisa et al. (U.S. PGPub 2019/0261421), hereinafter referred to as Peisa.
Regarding claim 4, Takeda fails to teach the method according to claim 3, wherein the actively triggering sending of the first message to the first node comprises: sending, by the terminal, the first message to the first node in a case that it is determined that a measurement quantity of DP data meets a first preset threshold.
Peisa teaches the concept that sending the RRC connection request is based on threshold and checking to see if a measurement threshold has been reached and then triggering the sending of an RRC Connection Request (See [0073]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the method of Takeda to include wherein the actively triggering sending of the first message to the first node comprises: sending, by the terminal, the first message to the first node in a case that it is determined that a measurement quantity of DP data meets a first preset threshold taught by Peisa in order to provide minimum system information that maps signal-quality levels to specific random-access parameters.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takeda as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Chang et al. (U.S. PGPub 2018/0302944), hereinafter referred to as Du.
Regarding claim 10, Takeda fails to explicitly teach the method according to claim 2, wherein the RRC connection establishment complete message further comprises at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal; or identification information of a second node, wherein the second node is a DPF node or a DPF-C node.
Chang teaches wherein the RRC connection establishment complete message further comprises at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal (where the RRC connection establishment complete message may include a short MAC-I calculated based on the identification information of the user equipment; See [0025]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the method of Takeda to include wherein the RRC connection establishment complete message further comprises at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal taught by Chang in order to resume communication quickly while reusing standard LTE signaling and security handling.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-6, 11-14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 5 appears to be novel and inventive because prior art fails to show or teach the method according to claim 4, wherein the sending the first message to the first node in a case that it is determined that a measurement quantity of DP data meets a first preset threshold comprises: in the case that it is determined that the measurement quantity of the DP data meets the first preset threshold, triggering, by a non-access stratum (NAS) of the terminal, a first message sending request to an access stratum (AS); and sending, by the AS, the first message to the first node based on the first message sending request.
The prior art of Sharma et al. (U.S. PGPub 2019/0223229) teaches the terminal device transmits an RRC connection request message in response to a paging message (See [0034]). The RRC connection request message includes an indication of an establishment cause for the RRC connection request (See [0035]). There are no further details regarding the contents of the paging message, including information regarding the establishment reason and/or type of DP-oriented connection.
The prior art of Jung et al. (U.S. PGPub 2023/0189209) teaches receiving a message including paging information (See Fig. 5, Step 9-10 and [0121]) and performing an RRC connection procedure (See Fig. 5, steps 5-30 to 5-40 and [0131]-[0134]). Neither message includes information regarding the establishment reason and/or type of DP-oriented connection.
Claim 6 appears to be novel and inventive because prior art fails to show or teach the method according to claim 3, wherein the first notification message comprises second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the establishment reason for the DP-oriented connection and/or the type of the DP-oriented connection.
Claim 11 appears to be novel and inventive for reasons similar to claims 5 and 6 because prior art fails to show or teach the method according to claim 2, wherein before the sending an RRC connection establishment complete message to the first node, the method further comprises at least one of the following: actively triggering, by the terminal, sending of an RRC connection establishment request to the first node; or sending, by the terminal, the RRC connection establishment request to the first node based on a received second notification message sent by the first node; wherein the actively triggering sending of an RRC connection establishment request to the first node comprises: sending, by the terminal, the RRC connection establishment request to the first node in a case that it is determined that a measurement quantity of DP data meets a second preset threshold; or, wherein the second notification message comprises fifth indication information, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate the establishment reason for the DP-oriented connection and/or the type of the DP-oriented connection.
Claim 12 appears to be novel and inventive because prior art fails to show or teach the method according to claim 2, wherein after the sending an RRC connection establishment complete message to the first node, the method further comprises: receiving, by the terminal, a fourth message sent by the first node, wherein the fourth message comprises configuration information for a first bearer corresponding to the DP-oriented connection, and the first bearer is a first radio bearer or a first signaling radio bearer; wherein in a case that the first bearer is the first signaling radio bearer, the method further comprises at least one of the following: receiving, by the terminal, configuration information for a first data plane data radio bearer that is sent by the first node, wherein the configuration information comprises sixth indication information, and the sixth indication information is used to indicate that the first data plane data radio bearer is terminated at an access network side; or receiving, by the terminal, configuration information for a second data plane data radio bearer that is sent by the first node, wherein the configuration information comprises eighth indication information, and the eighth indication information is used to indicate that the second data plane data radio bearer is terminated at a core network side.
Conclusion
Additional prior art made of record and not relied upon but considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure can be found on the PTO-892 (Notice of References Cited) form.
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/ASHLEY SHIVERS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477 9/14/2026
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