DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is responsive to the claims filed on: 08/27/2024.
Claims 1-14 and 16-22 are pending for Examination.
Claim 15 was cancelled by preliminary amendment.
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 Statements
The information disclosure statements (IDS’) submitted on: 08/07/2024 and 07/29/2026 are determined to be compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, these IDS’ are being considered by the Examiner.
Claim Interpretation – Alternative Claim Language
The claims of the instant application are given their Broadest Reasonable Interpretation (BRI) using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification, as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, the BRI of an alternative claim limitation or term can be determined to be the least-limiting interpretation, consistent with the specification. In this context, the term “or” by plain meaning can be interpreted to alternatively be: one or the other (i.e., A or B), but not both (i.e., not A and B). The term “and/or” by plain meaning can be interpreted to be: “and” or alternatively “or,” but not both, as this would not make sense. In this context, the forward-slash “/” is equivalent to the alternative “or.” Likewise, the alternative terms “at least one of,” “one or more of,” and the like, followed by multiple alternative claim limitations can be reasonably interpreted to be only “one of” a group of alternative claim limitations.
Prior art disclosing any one of multiple alternative claim limitations discloses matter within the scope of the claimed invention. "When a claim covers several structures or compositions, either generically or as alternatives, the claim is deemed anticipated if any of the structures or compositions within the scope of the claim is known in the prior art." Brown v. 3M, 265 F.3d 1349, 1351, 60 USPQ2d 1375, 1376 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (claim to a system for setting a computer clock to an offset time to address the Year 2000 (Y2K) problem, applicable to records with year date data in "at least one of two-digit, three-digit, or four-digit" representations, was held anticipated by a system that offsets year dates in only two-digit formats). See MPEP 2131.
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 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102) 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 14, and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being unpatentable in view of US PG Pub. 2022/0201659 A1, Agiwal.
With respect to claim 1, Agiwal teaches:
A method, performed by a radio access network (RAN) node (base station/gNB of Figs. 2-3, and 7), of managing configuration information for small data transmission (SDT) operation, the method comprising:
transmitting to a user equipment (UE) a first radio resource control (RRC) release message while the UE is in an RRC connected state, the first RRC release message including an SDT configuration for use by the UE when the UE operates in an RRC inactive state (paras. [0009]-[0012], [0076]-[0077], and [0123]-[0124]; and blocks 110/210/310 and steps 120/220/320 of Figs. 1-3 —while a UE is in RRC connected state, a gNB/BS can transmit a first RRC Release w/suspend message, i.e., at steps 120/220/320, to the UE with a CG-SDT configuration for the UE to utilize for sending small data after transitioning to RRC Inactive state); and
after transmitting the first RRC release message, and while the UE is in the RRC inactive state (paras. [0009]-[0012], [0076], and [0123]; and RRC state at blocks/steps 130-155/330-355 of Figs. 1 and 3 —when the UE receives the initial RRCRelease w/suspend message it transitions to the RRCInactive State, and can perform corresponding UL SDT(s) per the received CG-SDT configuration):
when it is determined to release the SDT configuration, transmitting to the UE a second RRC release message including a release indication for indicating that the UE is to release the SDT configuration (paras. [0076] and [0124]; blocks/steps 170 and 180 of Fig. 1 and blocks/steps 470 and 480 of Fig. 4 —when a BS determines to release a configured SDT CG resource, i.e., CG resource info 1, the BS can transmit a second RRCRelease message to the UE without specific CG resource information, which the UE interprets as an instruction to release its previously configured SDT CG resource, as depicted in Fig. 1 —alternatively, when a subsequent RRCRelease message includes a new indication that is set to false, i.e., ContinueCGUse param = FALSE, the UE can use this indication as an explicit instruction to release its previously configured, current CG SDT resource, as depicted in step 470 of Fig. 4), and
when it is determined not to release the SDT configuration, transmitting to the UE a third RRC release message excluding the release indication (paras. [0122]-[0124]; and blocks/steps 370-390 of Fig. 3 —when a BS determines to NOT to release a configured SDT CG resource, i.e., CG resource info 1, the BS can transmit another RRCRelease message to the UE without specific CG resource information, but with a new indication set to true, i.e., ContinueCGUse param = TRUE, which the UE uses as an instruction to maintain/continue to use its currently configured SDT CG resource, i.e., CG resource info 1, as depicted in Fig. 3).
With respect to claim 2, Agiwal teaches:
The method of claim 1, wherein the release indication is in a field of the second RRC release message (paras. [0122]-[0124]; and steps 370 and 470 of Figs. 3-4 —the new indication ContinueCGUse, i.e., when indicated as FALSE = release current CG SDT, is in a field of the subsequent RRCRelease message depicted in step 470 of Fig. 4).
With respect to claim 3, Agiwal teaches:
The method of claim 1, further comprising:
determining to release the SDT configuration in response to:
no data radio bearer (DRB) qualifying for SDT;
the RAN node not having sufficient resources for SDT; or
the RAN node being congested (paras. [0076], [0105]-[0106], [0123], and [0133]; and blocks 140/240/340/440 of Figs. 1-4 —an CG SDT, i.e., CG type 1 resources, may be released and a corresponding SDT will not be performed when it is determined that network resources for the configured SDT are not sufficient to support proper data transmission, i.e., when a data volume and/or a RSRP threshold is breached, or when other resource validity criteria is determined to be deficient —alternatively, when a DRB considered for a SDT is not indicated in an RRCRelease message allowed-List, then the DRB cannot be used for the SDT and a CG can be released —the alternative term “or” only requires examination on-the-merits of a single claimed alternative, for the reasons explained above in the Claim Interpretation — Alternative Claim Language section).
With respect to claim 4, Agiwal teaches:
The method of claim 1,further comprising:
after transmitting the first RRC release message and before transmitting the second RRC release message, communicating data with the UE using the SDT configuration while the UE is in the inactive state (paras. [0075]-[0076], [0123], and [0129]; steps 150 and 160 of Fig. 1, steps 350 and 360 of Fig. 3, and steps 450 and 460 of Fig. 4 —after a BS transmits a first RRCRelease message to a UE, i.e., at step 120 of Fig. 1, and before the BS transmits a second RRCRelease message to the UE, i.e., at step 170, UL SDT data can be communicated between the BS and UE, i.e., at steps 150 and 160, after/while the UE is in the RRC_Inactive state, i.e., at block 130).
With respect to claim 14, this claim recites similar features to independent claim 1, except claim 14 is directed to a RAN node with one or more processors (paras. [0219]-[0223]; and base station/gNB w/processor-controller 720 of Fig 7). As such, claim 14 is likewise rejected under §102(a)(2), based on Agiwal, for the same reasons explained above for independent claim 1.
With respect to claim 16, this claim recites similar features to dependent claim 2. As such, claim 16 is likewise rejected under §102(a)(2), based on Agiwal, for the same reasons explained above for dependent claim 2.
With respect to claim 17, this claim recites similar features to dependent claim 3. As such, claim 17 is likewise rejected under §102(a)(2), based on Agiwal, for the same reasons explained above for dependent claim 3.
With respect to claim 18, this claim recites similar features to dependent claim 4. As such, claim 18 is likewise rejected under §102(a)(2), based on Agiwal, for the same reasons explained above for dependent claim 4.
Claims 9-10 and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being unpatentable in view of US PG Pub. 2022/0286355 A1, Park et al. (hereinafter “Park”).
With respect to claim 9, Park teaches:
A method, performed by a radio access network (RAN) node (gNB/BS of Figs. 27 and Y), of managing configuration information for small data transmission (SDT) operation, the method comprising:
transmitting to a user equipment (UE), while the UE is in a radio resource control (RRC) connected state, a first message including an SDT configuration for use by the UE when the UE operates in an RRC inactive state (paras. [0252]-[0254], [0258], and [0268]; and Fig. 27 —while a UE is in RRC connected state, a gNB/BS can transmit an RRC Release w/suspend message to a UE with a CG-SDT configuration for the UE to utilize for sending small data after transitioning to RRC Inactive state, as depicted in Fig. 27);
after transmitting the first message, and while the UE is in the RRC inactive state, transitioning the UE to the RRC connected state by transmitting a second message to the UE (paras. [0252]-[0254], and [0256]; and Fig. 27 —subsequent to a SDT while the UE is in RRC inactive state, the gNB/BS can transmit an RRC setup/resume message to the UE to transition the UE into an RRC connected state, i.e., transitioning the UE out of RRC inactive, as depicted in Fig. 27);
and
after transitioning the UE to the RRC connected state, releasing the SDT configuration or causing another RAN node to release the SDT configuration (paras. [0252]-[0254] and [0258]-[0259]; and Fig. 27 —after the UE is transitioned out of RRC inactive state, and into RRC connected state via the RRC resume/setup message, a previously-stored SDT configuration may be released by the UE and/or the BS, as depicted in Fig. 27 —the alternative term “or” only requires examination on-the-merits of a single claimed alternative, for the reasons explained above in the Claim Interpretation — Alternative Claim Language section).
With respect to claim 10, Park teaches:
The method of claim 9, wherein the first message is a radio resource control (RRC) release message (paras. [0258]; and Fig. 27 —while a UE is in RRC connected state, a gNB/BS can transmit an RRC Release message to a UE with a CG-SDT configuration, as depicted in Fig. 27).
With respect to claim 12, Park teaches:
The method of claim 9, wherein:
the RAN node is a central unit (CU) of a distributed base station and the other RAN node is a distributed unit (DU) of the distributed base station (paras. [0252]-[0254], [0258]-[0259], and [0264]; and Fig. 27 —a gNB can comprise both CU and DU components, as depicted in Fig. 25);
transmitting the first message and transmitting the second message occur via the DU (paras. [0252]-[0254] and [0258]-[0259]; and Fig. 27 —the DU portion of a gNB is responsible for all lower-layer signaling with a UE, i.e., via the PHY layer, and can transmit both a first RRCRelease message and a second RRCResume/Setup message to a UE via the DU);
the method further comprises determining to transition the UE to the RRC connected state; transitioning the UE to the RRC connected state is in response to the determining (para. [0258]; and Fig. 27 —subsequent to a SDT when the UE is in RRC inactive state, the gNB/BS can transmit an RRC setup/resume message to the UE to transition the UE into an RRC connected state, i.e., transitioning the UE out of RRC inactive, as depicted in Fig. 27); and
the method comprises, in response to the determining, causing the DU to release the SDT configuration by transmitting a CU-to-DU message to the DU (para. [0258]; and Fig. 27 —the gNB CU can determine to release the SDT configuration based on the RRCResume/Setup message, and can cause the gNB DU to release the stored SDT configuration, as depicted in Fig. 27).
With respect to claim 13, Park teaches:
The method of claim 9, wherein:
the RAN node is a distributed unit (DU) of a distributed base station (paras. [0252]-[0254] and [0258]-[0259]; and Fig. 27 —the DU portion of a gNB is responsible for all lower-layer signaling with a UE, i.e., via the PHY layer, and can transmit both a first RRCRelease message and a second RRCResume/Setup message to a UE via the DU);
the method further comprises receiving from a central unit (CU) of the distributed base station a CU-to-DU message; and the method comprises releasing the SDT configuration in response to the CU-to-DU message (para. [0258]; and Fig. 27 —the gNB CU can determine to release the SDT configuration based on the RRCResume/Setup message, and can cause the gNB DU to release the stored SDT configuration by communication with the DU, as depicted in Fig. 27).
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.
Claims 5-8 and 19-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Agiwal in view of 2023/0020986 A1, Ma et al. (hereinafter “Ma”).
With Respect to claim 5, Agiwal teaches the method of claim 1, including transmitting the first RRC release message, transmitting the second RRC release message and communicating data with the UE, as previously described.
However, Agiwal does not explicitly teach:
wherein the RAN node is a central unit (CU) of a distributed base station,
transmitting an RRC release message(s) to the UE via a distributed unit (DU) of the distributed base station, and
before transmitting the first RRC release message, obtaining the SDT configuration from the DU.
Ma does teach:
wherein a RAN node is a central unit (CU) of a distributed base station (paras. [0055], [0069]-[0075], and [0179]; gNB-CU of Figs. 1 and 2, and BS of Fig. 8 —a RAN node can be considered to be a central unit (CU) component of a BS, as depicted in Figs. 1 and 2 —the Examiner notes that the same BS/gNB, e.g., w/interrelation to “an entire body,” can include both a CU portion, e.g., w/interrelation to “the brain,” and a DU portion, e.g., w/interrelation to “the hands” —as such, when the BS is considered as-a-whole, the BS performs the combined function(s) of both its CU and DU components, the primary distinction being that the CU is typically responsible for performing higher-layer functions of the BS, whereas the DU is typically responsible for performing lower-layer functions of the BS),
transmitting an RRC release message to the UE via a distributed unit (DU) of the distributed base station (paras. [0073], [0083], [0094]-[0095], and [0106]; and step 6 of Fig. 1 —a DU component of a BS/gNB can transmit an RRC_Inactive message, i.e., an RRC Release, to a UE to place the UE into RRC inactive state, for performing SDT —all transmission occurs at the lower, physical layer of a BS DU), and
before transmitting the first RRC release message, transmitting the SDT configuration from the DU (paras. [0084]-[0085], [0088], [0091], [0094]-[0095], and [0114]; and step 4 of Fig. 1 —a BS CU can acquire a requested SDT configuration from the DU, prior to RRCRelease transmission to a UE —the Examiner notes that in this context of the BS “as-a-whole,” the BS effectively “obtains” the SDT configuration from itself, i.e., the BS accesses an SDT configuration of at its DU for processing at its CU ).
It would have been prima-facie obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Agiwal’s BS/gNB that transmits the first RRC release message to a UE with CG-SDT information, to explicitly include CU and DU components for segmenting the BS’ higher-layer and lower-layer functions, as taught by Ma.
The motivation for doing so would have been to distribute various processes withing a single BS to occur via CU and/or DU portions thereof as a mechanism to improve segmented intra-device communications efficiency, as recognized by Ma (paras. [0069]-[0075], [0083]-[0088], [0091], [0094]-[0095], [0106], and [0114]; and Fig. 1).
With respect to claim 6, Agiwal in view of Ma teaches the method of claim 5, further comprising:
before communicating data with the UE, starting a configured grant SDT (CG-SDT) time alignment timer (Agiwal : paras. [0083], [0129]-[0130], and [0154]-[0155] —a UE can be configured with CG timer, i.e., a TAT, while RRC_Connected, prior to receiving an RRCRelease message with CG grant resources, and this pre-configured timer can be configured to start when the RRCRelease message); and
in response to a determination to release the SDT configuration, stopping the CG-SDT time alignment timer (Agiwal: paras. [0126]-[0127] and [0155] —when a UE receives an RRCRelease message during an ongoing SDT procedure, the SDT procedure and the TAT/SDT timer may be stopped and the SDT configuration can be released).
With respect to claim 7, Agiwal teaches the method of claim 1.
However, Agiwal does not explicitly teach:
wherein the RAN node is a distributed base station including a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), and
before transmitting the first RRC release message, transmitting the SDT configuration from the DU to the CU.
Ma does teach:
wherein the RAN node is a distributed base station including a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) (paras. [0055], [0069]-[0075], and [0179], and BS of Fig. 8; and gNB includes a gNB-CU and a gNB-DU of Figs. 1 and 2 —a RAN node can be considered to be a BS with both central unit (CU) and distributed unit (DU) components, as depicted in Figs. 1 and 2 —the Examiner notes that the same BS/gNB, e.g., w/interrelation to “an entire body,” can include both a CU portion, e.g., w/interrelation to “the brain,” and a DU portion, e.g., w/interrelation to “the hands” —as such, when the BS is considered as-a-whole, the BS performs the combined function(s) of both its CU and DU components, the primary distinction being that the CU is typically responsible for performing higher-layer functions of the BS, whereas the DU is typically responsible for performing lower-layer functions of the BS), and
before transmitting the first RRC release message, transmitting the SDT configuration from the DU to the CU (paras. [0084]-[0085], [0088], [0091], [0094]-[0095], and [0114]; and step 4 of Fig. 1 —a BS CU can acquire a requested SDT configuration from the DU, prior to RRCRelease transmission to a UE —the Examiner notes that in this context of the BS “as-a-whole,” the BS effectively “obtains” the SDT configuration from itself, i.e., the BS accesses an SDT configuration of at its DU for processing at its CU ).
It would have been prima-facie obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Agiwal’s BS/gNB that transmits the first RRC release message to a UE with CG-SDT information, to explicitly include CU and DU components for segmenting the BS’ higher-layer and lower-layer functions, as taught by Ma.
The motivation for doing so would have been to distribute various processes withing a single BS to occur via CU and/or DU portions thereof as a mechanism to improve segmented intra-device communications efficiency, as recognized by Ma (paras. [0069]-[0075], [0083]-[0088], [0091], [0094]-[0095], [0106], and [0114]; and Fig. 1).
With respect to claim 8, Agiwal in view of Ma teaches the method of claim 7, further comprising:
before communicating data with the UE, starting a configured grant SDT (CG-SDT) time alignment timer at the DU (Agiwal : paras. [0083], [0129]-[0130], and [0154]-[0155] —a UE can be configured with CG timer, i.e., a TAT, while RRC_Connected, prior to receiving an RRCRelease message with CG grant resources, and this pre-configured timer can be configured to start when the RRCRelease message is received a the DU, i.e., at the PHY layer); and
in response to a determination to release the SDT configuration, stopping the CG-SDT time alignment timer at the DU (Agiwal: paras. [0126]-[0127] and [0155] —when a UE receives an RRCRelease message during an ongoing SDT procedure, the SDT procedure and the TAT/SDT timer may be stopped at the DU, i.e., at the PHY layer, and the SDT configuration can be released).
With respect to claim 19, this claim recites similar features to dependent claim 5. As such, claim 19 is likewise rejected under §103, based on Agiwal in view of Ma, for the same reasons explained above for dependent claim 5.
With respect to claim 20, this claim recites similar features to dependent claim 6. As such, claim 20 is likewise rejected under §103, based on Agiwal in view of Ma, for the same reasons explained above for dependent claim 6.
With respect to claim 21, this claim recites similar features to dependent claim 7. As such, claim 21 is likewise rejected under §103, based on Agiwal in view of Ma, for the same reasons explained above for dependent claim 7.
With respect to claim 22, this claim recites similar features to dependent claim 8. As such, claim 22 is likewise rejected under §103, based on Agiwal in view of Ma, for the same reasons explained above for dependent claim 8.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park in view of 2024/0040626 A1, Tseng et al. (hereinafter “Tseng”).
With respect to claim 11, Park teaches the method of claim 9, further comprising:
before transitioning the UE to the RRC connected state, starting a configured grant SDT (CG-SDT) time alignment timer (paras. [0246]-[0247], [0258], [0268], and [0273] —a UE can be configured to start a SDT TAT during RRC inactive state, where the TAT acts as a validity timer for a CG SDT resource).
However, Park does not explicitly teach:
after transitioning the UE to the RRC connected state, keeping the CG-SDT timer running.
Tseng does teach:
after transitioning the UE to the RRC connected state, keeping the CG-SDT timer running (Table 1: Mechanisms 1 and 5, paras. [0144]-[0145], and Fig. 5B —a CG-TAT can still be run after a UE moves back into an anchor cell and resumes RRC connected state —a running/valid CG-TAT (associated with a stored SDT-CG) can also be reactivated/unpaused when a UE reselects to an anchor cell, i.e., via RRCResume —in this scenario, the Examiner interprets a running CG-TAT to be a CG-TAT that is still valid and has not been deactivated).
It would have been prima-facie obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Park’s CG-SDT validity timer to extend from RRC_Inactive state into RRC_Connected state, when resuming connection to a previously-connected anchor cell, as taught by Tseng.
The motivation for doing so would have been to enable reactivation of a TAT timer for valid CG data transmissions, as recognized by Tseng (Table 1: Mechanisms 1 and 5, paras. [0144]-[0145], and Fig. 5B).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure is as follows:
US PG Pub 2024/0107628 A1, Ma et al.: teaches a SDT configuration procedure including multiple RRC_Release messages for storing and releasing SDT configs.
US PG Pub. 2021/0307055 A1, Tsai et al.: teaches SDT CG configuration for RRC_Inactive data transmissions, and various RRC messages that release CG configs.
US PG Pub. 2022/0416990 A1, Tsai et al.: teaches SDT transmission configuration with CG config. validity determinations for both RA-based SDTs and CG-based SDTs.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to Scott Schlack whose telephone number is (571)272-2332. The Examiner can normally be reached Mon. through Fri., from 11am-6pm EST.
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, Moo Jeong can be reached at (571)272-9617. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Scott A. Schlack/Examiner, Art Unit 2418
/Moo Jeong/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2418
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