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 . Claims 1-9, 11-19, 21-22 are pending.
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 1-2, 4-9, 11-12, 14-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lv et al. (US# 2021/0029777 hereinafter referred to as Lv).
RE Claim 1, Lv discloses a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) (See Lv FIG 1 – WTRU) comprising:
a processor (See Lv FIG 8; [0126] – WTRU’s have processors); and
a transceiver in communication with the processor (See Lv FIG 8; [0126] – WTRU’s have transceivers),
wherein the processor and the transceiver are configured to receive packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) configuration information for a split bearer (See Lv FIG 2; [0042], [0046] – receiving PDCP configuration (i.e. for discardTimer) for a split bearer), wherein the PDCP configuration information includes information about a first discard time period and information about a second discard time period (See Lv [0042], [0056] – timers can be configured; setting up two timers (discardTimers 1 & 2)),
wherein the processor is further configured to store a first packet and a second packet in a PDCP transmit buffer (See Lv [0056]-[0058], [0116]-[0118] – PDCP transmit buffer used to store packets until discarded),
wherein the processor and the transceiver are further configured to:
start the first discard time period and transmit the first packet over a primary path (See Lv [0056] – starting first discardTimer and transmitting first packet (routed for MCG)),
start the second discard time period and transmit the second packet over a secondary path (See Lv [0056] – starting second discardTimer and transmitting second packet (routed for SCG)),
discard the first packet stored in the PDCP transmit buffer based on a first one of expiry of the first discard time period or reception of an acknowledgement (ACK) for the first packet (See Lv [0049] - When the discard timer expires for the PDCP SDU, or the successful delivery of the PDCP SDU is confirmed by PDCP status report, the transmitting PDCP entity discards the PDCP SDU along with the corresponding PDCP Data PDU), and
discard the second packet stored in the PDCP transmit buffer based on a first one of expiry of the second discard time period or reception of an ACK for the second packet (See Lv [0049] - When the discard timer expires for the PDCP SDU, or the successful delivery of the PDCP SDU is confirmed by PDCP status report, the transmitting PDCP entity discards the PDCP SDU along with the corresponding PDCP Data PDU), and
reduce or extend at least one of the first discard time period or the second discard time period based on at least one parameter (See Lv [0094] - The PDCP entity may initiate or reset the discard timers for the PDCP SDUs to the discarded RLC SDUs to a new value. When the RLC entity indicates that the RLC SDUs (an RLC SDU is same as a PDCP PDU) are discarded, the first discard timer associated with the PDCP PDU that had an initial value can be reset to a different initial value).
RE Claim 2, Lv discloses a WTRU, as set forth in claim 1 above, wherein the primary path is a primary path for the split bearer and the secondary path is a secondary path for the split bearer (See Lv [0023] – MCG (Master cell group) that utilizes a licensed spectrum channel for transmission; SCG (secondary cell group) that utilizes a licensed spectrum channel for transmission).
RE Claim 4, Lv discloses a WTRU, as set forth in claim 1 above, wherein the WTRU is configured to maintain the first packet in the PDCP transmit buffer after transmission of the first packet over one of the primary path or the secondary path until the first packet is discarded (See Lv [0049], [0056]-[0058] – packet is maintained after transmission until discarded).
RE Claim 5, Lv discloses a WTRU, as set forth in claim 1 above, wherein the processor and the transceiver are configured to:
transmit the first packet over the primary path after both starting the first discard time period and passing the first packet to lower layers (See Lv [0055]-[0058] – transmit first PDU over first path after starting first discard timer and passing packet to lower layers), and
transmit the second packet over a secondary path after both starting the second discard time period and passing the second packet to lower layers (See Lv [0055]-[0058] – transmit second PDU over second path after starting second discard timer and passing packet to lower layers).
RE Claim 6, Lv, discloses a WTRU, as set forth in claim 5 above, wherein the first packet transmitted over the primary path is contained in a first transport block, and the second packet transmitted over the secondary path is contained in a second transport block (See Lv [0010]-[0011] – first and second SDUs transmitted in first and second PDUs).
RE Claim 7, Lv discloses a WTRU, as set forth in claim 1 above, wherein the information about the first discard time period and the second discard time period are received via a radio resource configuration (RRC) re-configuration message (See Lv [0097]-[0098] – using RRC for control information/configuration).
RE Claim 8, Lv discloses a WTRU, as set forth in claim 1 above, wherein the information about the first discard time period and the second discard time period includes a first value for the first discard time period and a second, different value for the second discard time period (See Lv [0056] – first discard timer and second discard timer can be different values).
RE Claim 9, Lv discloses a WTRU, as set forth in claim 1 above, wherein the information about the first discard time period includes a value for the first discard time period and the information about the second discard time period includes one of a scaling factor or a delta value (See Lv [0056] – second discard timer value 2 can be an offset of timer value 1).
RE Claim 11, Lv discloses a method, implemented in a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) (See Lv FIG 1 – WTRU) the method comprising:
receiving packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) configuration information for a split bearer (See Lv FIG 2; [0042], [0046] – receiving PDCP configuration (i.e. for discardTimer) for a split bearer), wherein the PDCP configuration information includes information about a first discard time period and information about a second discard time period (See Lv [0042], [0056] – timers can be configured; setting up two timers (discardTimers 1 & 2)),
storing a first packet and a second packet in a PDCP transmit buffer (See Lv [0056]-[0058], [0116]-[0118] – PDCP transmit buffer used to store packets until discarded),
starting the first discard time period and transmit the first packet over a primary path (See Lv [0056] – starting first discardTimer and transmitting first packet (routed for MCG)),
starting the second discard time period and transmit the second packet over a secondary path (See Lv [0056] – starting second discardTimer and transmitting second packet (routed for SCG)),
discarding the first packet stored in the PDCP transmit buffer based on a first one of expiry of the first discard time period or reception of an acknowledgement (ACK) for the first packet (See Lv [0049] - When the discard timer expires for the PDCP SDU, or the successful delivery of the PDCP SDU is confirmed by PDCP status report, the transmitting PDCP entity discards the PDCP SDU along with the corresponding PDCP Data PDU), and
discarding the second packet stored in the PDCP transmit buffer based on a first one of expiry of the second discard time period or reception of an ACK for the second packet (See Lv [0049] - When the discard timer expires for the PDCP SDU, or the successful delivery of the PDCP SDU is confirmed by PDCP status report, the transmitting PDCP entity discards the PDCP SDU along with the corresponding PDCP Data PDU), and
reducing or extending at least one of the first discard time period or the second discard time period based on at least one parameter (See Lv [0094] - The PDCP entity may initiate or reset the discard timers for the PDCP SDUs to the discarded RLC SDUs to a new value. When the RLC entity indicates that the RLC SDUs (an RLC SDU is same as a PDCP PDU) are discarded, the first discard timer associated with the PDCP PDU that had an initial value can be reset to a different initial value).
RE Claim 12, Lv discloses a method, as set forth in claim 11 above, wherein the primary path is a primary path for the split bearer and the secondary path is a secondary path for the split bearer (See Lv [0023] – MCG (Master cell group) that utilizes a licensed spectrum channel for transmission; SCG (secondary cell group) that utilizes a licensed spectrum channel for transmission).
RE Claim 14, Lv discloses a method, as set forth in claim 11 above, wherein the WTRU is configured to maintain the first packet in the PDCP transmit buffer after transmission of the first packet over one of the primary path or the secondary path until the first packet is discarded (See Lv [0049], [0056]-[0058] – packet is maintained after transmission until discarded).
RE Claim 15, Lv discloses a method, as set forth in claim 11 above, wherein the processor and the transceiver are configured to:
transmit the first packet over the primary path after both starting the first discard time period and passing the first packet to lower layers (See Lv [0055]-[0058] – transmit first PDU over first path after starting first discard timer and passing packet to lower layers), and
transmit the second packet over a secondary path after both starting the second discard time period and passing the second packet to lower layers (See Lv [0055]-[0058] – transmit second PDU over second path after starting second discard timer and passing packet to lower layers).
RE Claim 16, Lv, discloses a method, as set forth in claim 15 above, wherein the first packet transmitted over the primary path is contained in a first transport block, and the second packet transmitted over the secondary path is contained in a second transport block (See Lv [0010]-[0011] – first and second SDUs transmitted in first and second PDUs).
RE Claim 17, Lv discloses a method, as set forth in claim 11 above, wherein the information about the first discard time period and the second discard time period are received via a radio resource configuration (RRC) re-configuration message (See Lv [0097]-[0098] – using RRC for control information/configuration).
RE Claim 18, Lv discloses a method, as set forth in claim 11 above, wherein the information about the first discard time period and the second discard time period includes a first value for the first discard time period and a second, different value for the second discard time period (See Lv [0056] – first discard timer and second discard timer can be different values).
RE Claim 19, Lv discloses a method, as set forth in claim 11 above, wherein the information about the first discard time period includes a value for the first discard time period and the information about the second discard time period includes one of a scaling factor or a delta value (See Lv [0056] – second discard timer value 2 can be an offset of timer value 1).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 3, 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lv et al. (US# 2021/0029777 hereinafter referred to as Lv) in view of Chen et al. (US# 2024/0373321 hereinafter referred to as Chen).
RE Claim 3, Lv discloses a WTRU, as set forth in claim 2 above.
Lv does not specifically disclose wherein one of the primary path or the secondary path comprises a direct link to a base station and another one of the primary path or the secondary path comprises a relayed link to the base station.
However, Chen teaches of wherein one of the primary path or the secondary path comprises a direct link to a base station and another one of the primary path or the secondary path comprises a relayed link to the base station (See Chen FIGs 2a-2c; [0162]-[0173], [0265] - the remote UE firstly delivers data traffic via the primary path (for example, the direct path). Later, when the data traffic is higher than the data split threshold, the remote UE may deliver the data traffic via either primary path or secondary path (for example, the indirect path)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the PDCP configuration/communication system, as disclosed in Lv, wherein one of the primary path or the secondary path comprises a direct link to a base station and another one of the primary path or the secondary path comprises a relayed link to the base station, as taught in Chen. One is motivated as such in order to improve transmission rate and robustness (See Chen Background; Summary; [0161], [0222]).
RE Claim 13, Lv discloses a method, as set forth in claim 12 above.
Lv does not specifically disclose wherein one of the primary path or the secondary path comprises a direct link to a base station and another one of the primary path or the secondary path comprises a relayed link to the base station.
However, Chen teaches of wherein one of the primary path or the secondary path comprises a direct link to a base station and another one of the primary path or the secondary path comprises a relayed link to the base station (See Chen FIGs 2a-2c; [0162]-[0173], [0265] - the remote UE firstly delivers data traffic via the primary path (for example, the direct path). Later, when the data traffic is higher than the data split threshold, the remote UE may deliver the data traffic via either primary path or secondary path (for example, the indirect path)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the PDCP configuration/communication system, as disclosed in Lv, wherein one of the primary path or the secondary path comprises a direct link to a base station and another one of the primary path or the secondary path comprises a relayed link to the base station, as taught in Chen. One is motivated as such in order to improve transmission rate and robustness (See Chen Background; Summary; [0161], [0222]).
Claims 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lv et al. (US# 2021/0029777 hereinafter referred to as Lv) in view of Yao et al. (US# 2022/0329543 hereinafter referred to as Yao).
RE Claim 21, Lv discloses a WTRU, as set forth in claim 1 above.
Lv does not specifically disclose wherein the processor and the transceiver are configured to reduce or extend the first discard time period while the first packet remains stored in the PDCP transmit buffer and before expiry of the first discard time period, or reduce or extend the second discard time period while the second packet remains stored in the PDCP transmit buffer and before expiry of the second discard time period.
However, Yao teaches of wherein the processor and the transceiver are configured to reduce or extend the first discard time period while the first packet remains stored in the PDCP transmit buffer and before expiry of the first discard time period, or reduce or extend the second discard time period while the second packet remains stored in the PDCP transmit buffer and before expiry of the second discard time period (See Yao [0433] - or after enabling the discard timer corresponding to the first data packet, the first device may set the timing duration of the discard timer to infinity, so that the discard timer does not expire, and the first device correspondingly does not delete the first data packet or the compressed first data packet. Because the first device does not delete the compressed first data packet, buffer state inconsistency caused by deletion of the compressed first data packet does not occur between the first device and the second device. Setting the discard timer herein may be setting a discard timer for only one compressed data packet, or may be setting discard timers for all data packets).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the PDCP configuration/communication system, as disclosed in Lv, wherein the processor and the transceiver are configured to reduce or extend the first discard time period while the first packet remains stored in the PDCP transmit buffer and before expiry of the first discard time period, or reduce or extend the second discard time period while the second packet remains stored in the PDCP transmit buffer and before expiry of the second discard time period, as taught in Yao. One is motivated as such in order to better and more successfully transmit/receive data packets (See Yao Background; Summary).
RE Claim 22, Lv discloses a method, as set forth in claim 11 above.
Lv does not specifically disclose wherein the reducing or extending comprises reducing or extending the first discard time period while the first packet remains stored in the PDCP transmit buffer and before expiry of the first discard time period, or reducing or extending the second discard time period while the second packet remains stored in the PDCP transmit buffer and before expiry of the second discard time period.
However, Yao teaches of wherein the reducing or extending comprises reducing or extending the first discard time period while the first packet remains stored in the PDCP transmit buffer and before expiry of the first discard time period, or reducing or extending the second discard time period while the second packet remains stored in the PDCP transmit buffer and before expiry of the second discard time period (See Yao [0433] - or after enabling the discard timer corresponding to the first data packet, the first device may set the timing duration of the discard timer to infinity, so that the discard timer does not expire, and the first device correspondingly does not delete the first data packet or the compressed first data packet. Because the first device does not delete the compressed first data packet, buffer state inconsistency caused by deletion of the compressed first data packet does not occur between the first device and the second device. Setting the discard timer herein may be setting a discard timer for only one compressed data packet, or may be setting discard timers for all data packets).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the PDCP configuration/communication system, as disclosed in Lv, wherein the reducing or extending comprises reducing or extending the first discard time period while the first packet remains stored in the PDCP transmit buffer and before expiry of the first discard time period, or reducing or extending the second discard time period while the second packet remains stored in the PDCP transmit buffer and before expiry of the second discard time period, as taught in Yao. One is motivated as such in order to better and more successfully transmit/receive data packets (See Yao Background; Summary).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 09/02/2026 have been fully considered.
Regarding Applicant's argument that Lv does not specifically disclose the elements of independent claims 1 and 11, the Examiner respectfully disagrees. The Applicant has argued that Lv does not teach the feature of “reduce or extend at least one of the first discard time period or the second discard time period based on at least one parameter”. The Examiner disagrees and submits that the claim language is broad and vague when it comes to what the “one parameter” is as well as how the discard time period is reduced or extended “based on” the “one parameter”. That is, Lv teaches at the very least that the discard time period can be set to a “new value”. Broadly construed, this “new value” in Lv can be considered the claimed “one parameter” as the timer value is set to this “new value” (i.e. reducing or extending the discard time period based on at least one parameter). Furthermore, all the subsequent cited sections by the Applicant regarding how the discard timer initial values are determined show different potential “parameters” that could affect the what the new discard timer value could be set to (i.e. based on whether a corresponding PDCP PDU is routed to a licensed or unlicensed carrier, discard timer associated with PDCP SDU, etc…).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Steve R Young whose telephone number is (571)270-7518. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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, 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.
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.
/STEVE R YOUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477
Prosecution Insights