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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 11 is/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.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 1 is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites “the transceiver” but it should be “a transceiver” because transceiver is introduced for the first time. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 13 recites the limitation "the second timer" in “apply the RRC reestablishment message and stop the second timer for RRC reestablishment request.” There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1, 4, 5, 9, 15, 16, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Cheng et al. (US 2023/0077496 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 15, and 16, Cheng discloses A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and is configured to cause the UE to (claim 1) and A method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising (claim 15) and A processor for wireless communication, comprising: at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to (claim 16) (Fig. 3: UEs 310, 350 include processors 375, 359 and memories 376, 360):
initiate a first radio resource control (RRC) reestablishment procedure (Fig. 10, [0133]: remote UE transmits a request to reestablish an RRC connection (e.g., an RRC reestablishment message). [0137], [0146]: RRC connection reestablishment);
transmit a first RRC reestablishment request message via the transceiver to a network node via a first relay node (Fig. 10, [0133]: remote UE transmits a request to reestablish an RRC connection (e.g., an RRC reestablishment message) to the RAN via the relay UE. [0137], [0146]: for RRC connection reestablishment via a relay UE … upon transmission of an RRCReestablishmentRequest);
start a first timer for RRC reestablishment request in response to transmitting the first RRC reestablishment request message ([0124]: The UE may start the T301 timer upon transmission of the RRC reestablishment request message. [0137], [0146]: the remote UE may start a timer for RRC connection reestablishment via a relay UE … upon transmission of an RRCReestablishmentRequest); and
stop the first timer for RRC reestablishment request in response to a pre-specified condition associated with reception of a notification message being met ([0124]: The UE may stop the T301 timer in response to reception of RRCSetup message as well as when the selected cell becomes unsuitable. [0137], [0146]: The remote UE may stop the timer upon reception of an RRCReestablishment message or RRCSetup message, when the selected cell becomes unsuitable (e.g., does not meet a criteria or metric), or when the selected relay UE becomes unsuitable (e.g., does not meet a criteria or metric)).
Regarding claim(s) 4 and 19, Cheng discloses all features of claim(s) 1 and 16 as outlined above.
Cheng discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the UE to: perform at least one of: a first cell selection operation, a first relay selection operation, or a first relay reselection operation, in response to initiating the first RRC reestablishment procedure ([0163]: the first UE may start an RRC connection re-establishment timer in response to an initiation of an RRC re-establishment procedure; and stop the one or more timer in response to selection of at least one of a first cell meeting cell selection criteria, the second UE meeting relay criteria, or a second cell with a different RAT).
Regarding claim(s) 5, Cheng discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above.
Cheng discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the UE to: receive the notification message from the first relay UE ([0124]: The UE may stop the T301 timer in response to reception of RRCSetup message as well as when the selected cell becomes unsuitable. [0137], [0146]: The remote UE may stop the timer upon reception of an RRCReestablishment message or RRCSetup message, when the selected cell becomes unsuitable (e.g., does not meet a criteria or metric), or when the selected relay UE becomes unsuitable (e.g., does not meet a criteria or metric). [0116]: The RRCSetup delivery to the remote UE 802 may use a default sidelink configuration, e.g., on PC5. Figs. 1a,b: PC5 connection is between remote UE and relay UE).
Regarding claim(s) 9, Cheng discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above.
Cheng discloses wherein the pre-specified condition includes at least one of:
the reception of the notification message from the first relay node ([0124]: The UE may stop the T301 timer in response to reception of RRCSetup message as well as when the selected cell becomes unsuitable. [0137], [0146]: The remote UE may stop the timer upon reception of an RRCReestablishment message or RRCSetup message, when the selected cell becomes unsuitable (e.g., does not meet a criteria or metric), or when the selected relay UE becomes unsuitable (e.g., does not meet a criteria or metric). [0116]: The RRCSetup delivery to the remote UE 802 may use a default sidelink configuration, e.g., on PC5. Figs. 1a,b: PC5 connection is between remote UE and relay UE);
the UE considers that a selected cell becomes unsuitable upon the reception of the notification message ([0124]: The UE may stop the T301 timer in response to reception of RRCSetup message as well as when the selected cell becomes unsuitable. [0137], [0146]: The remote UE may stop the timer upon reception of an RRCReestablishment message or RRCSetup message, when the selected cell becomes unsuitable (e.g., does not meet a criteria or metric), or when the selected relay UE becomes unsuitable (e.g., does not meet a criteria or metric). [0116]: The RRCSetup delivery to the remote UE 802 may use a default sidelink configuration, e.g., on PC5. Figs. 1a,b: PC5 connection is between remote UE and relay UE);
the UE considers that a cell selection operation occurs upon the reception of the notification message; or
the UE considers the first timer for RRC reestablishment request as expired upon the reception of the notification message.
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 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(s) 2 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng et al. (US 2023/0077496 A1) in view of Zhang et al. (US 2024/0224366 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 2 and 17, Cheng discloses all features of claim(s) 1 and 16 as outlined above.
Cheng does not disclose, but Zhang discloses wherein the notification message indicates at least one of: a handover of the first relay node, a radio link failure (RLF) between the first relay node and the network node, a cell reselection of the first relay node, or an RRC connection failure of the first relay node ([0020] receiving, by the remote UE when the relay UE considers that the RRC connection establishment failure has occurred, a PC5-RRC message carrying the RRC connection establishment failure from the relay UE).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the relay UE, as taught by Cheng, to transmit a PC5-RRC message carrying the RRC connection establishment failure from the relay UE, as taught by Zhang.
Doing so allows the remote UE to stop the timer which solves the problem of unnecessary latency of RRC connection establishment of remote UE because the remote UE can go to an idle state only after waiting for an RRC connection establishment control timer to expire (Zhang: [0007], [0021]).
Claim(s) 3 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng et al. (US 2023/0077496 A1) in view of Cai et al. (US 2024/0137995 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 3 and 18, Cheng discloses all features of claim(s) 1 and 16 as outlined above.
Cheng does not disclose, but Cai discloses wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to: release configuration information related to a PC5 relay radio link control (RLC) channel, in response to at least one of (Figs. 1a,b: PC5 RLC is between remote UE and relay UE. [0126], [0174], [0183], [0187], [0296]: remote UE releases the PC5 RLC):
initiating the first RRC reestablishment procedure ([0126], [0174], [0183], [0187], [0296]: if first timer expires, or if the first timer does not expire and the remaining duration is less than the first duration, or if the remote UE receives a RRC reject message from the base station via the relay station, or if the procedure of entering the RRC connected state is terminated, or after receiving a third indication and determining the RRC connection reestablishment procedure ends. [0111]: first timer is started when the remote UE initializes RRC connection reestablishment procedure. [0251]-[0255]: third indication information indicates RRC connection is unavailable, or has failed, the reason for the failure including RRC establishment failure, the duration when the RRC connection is unavailable, etc.);
initiating the first RRC reestablishment procedure and the UE not being configured with a conditional reconfiguration configuration associated with a candidate target cell; or
initiating the first RRC reestablishment procedure and the UE not being not configured with an indication for indicating that the UE is to perform the conditional reconfiguration configuration if a selected cell is configured with conditional handover (CHO) for the first time after a failure.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the remote UE, as taught by Cheng, to release the PC5 RLC to the relay UE based on starting a RRC reestablishment procedure with a timer expiring, or the timer not expiring but a remaining duration being less than a first duration, or receiving a RRC reject message, or the procedure of entering a RRC connected state is terminated, or reception of a third indication indicating RRC reestablishment failure, as taught by Cai.
Doing so reduces signaling overheads because the relay UE can stop attempting to enter the RRC connected state (Cai: [0004]-[0005]).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng et al. (US 2023/0077496 A1) in view of Kaur et al. (US 2017/0142741 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 6, Cheng discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above.
Cheng discloses in [0127] the UE starts a T311 timer upon initiating an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. Cheng does not disclose, but Kaur discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the UE to: enter an RRC idle state in response to the pre-specified condition being met or in response to stopping the first timer for RRC reestablishment request ([0170]-[0171]: WTRU may begin Mode 2 operation if a RRC re-establishment procedure is initiated (e.g., a RRC timer is running, for example, T311 or T301 is running) and transitions to an idle mode (e.g., when the RRC timer stops or expires, for example, when T311 or T301 stops or expires).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the remote UE, as taught by Cheng, to transition to an idle mode when T311 stops, as taught by Kaur.
Doing so triggers the WTRU to not use Mode 2 anymore which allows the WTRU to select different resources (Kaur: [0086], [0171]).
Claim(s) 7-8, 10, 13-14, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng et al. (US 2023/0077496 A1) in view of Tenny et al. (US 2018/0049261 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 7, Cheng discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above.
Cheng does not disclose, but Tenny discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the UE to: initiate a second RRC reestablishment procedure in response to the pre-specified condition being met or in response to stopping the first timer for RRC reestablishment request (Fig. 10, [0095]-[0096]: UE 1005 sends a L3 reestablishment request 1030 to target RCU 1009 after receiving, from target RDU 1007, a L2 reestablishment reject 1028 indicating that the UE should attempt re-establishment at L3. [0094]: target cell is connected to different RDU and RCU).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the remote UE, as taught by Cheng, to send a L3 reestablishment request after receiving a L2 reestablishment reject, as taught by Tenny.
Doing so allows the UE to finish the reestablishment at L3 when the reestablishment at L2 fails (Tenny: Fig. 10).
Regarding claim(s) 8, Cheng discloses all features of claim(s) 7 as outlined above.
Cheng does not disclose, but Tenny discloses wherein the pre-specified condition includes a cell change upon the reception of the notification message (Fig. 10, [0095]-[0096]: UE 1005 sends a L3 reestablishment request 1030 to target RCU 1009 after receiving, from target RDU 1007, a L2 reestablishment reject 1028 indicating that the UE should attempt re-establishment at L3. [0094]: target cell is connected to different RDU and RCU).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the remote UE, as taught by Cheng, to send a L3 reestablishment request after receiving a L2 reestablishment reject when the target cell is connected to different RDU and RCU, as taught by Tenny.
Doing so allows the UE to finish the reestablishment at L3 when the reestablishment at L2 fails (Tenny: Fig. 10).
Regarding claim(s) 10, Cheng in view of Tenny discloses all features of claim(s) 7 as outlined above.
Cheng does not disclose, but Tenny discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the UE to: perform at least one of a second cell selection operation, a second relay selection operation, or a second relay reselection operation after initiating the second RRC reestablishment procedure (Fig. 10, [0095]-[0096]: UE 1005 sends a L3 reestablishment request 1030 to target RCU 1009 after receiving, from target RDU 1007, a L2 reestablishment reject 1028 indicating that the UE should attempt re-establishment at L3. [0094]: target cell is connected to different RDU and RCU).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the remote UE, as taught by Cheng, to send a L3 reestablishment request after receiving a L2 reestablishment reject when the target cell is connected to different RDU and RCU, as taught by Tenny.
Doing so allows the UE to finish the reestablishment at L3 when the reestablishment at L2 fails (Tenny: Fig. 10).
Regarding claim(s) 13, Cheng in view of Tenny discloses all features of claim(s) 7 as outlined above.
Cheng discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the UE to: receive an RRC reestablishment message responding to the first RRC reestablishment request message via the transceiver from the network node ([0124]: The UE may stop the T301 timer in response to reception of RRCSetup message as well as when the selected cell becomes unsuitable. [0137], [0146]: The remote UE may stop the timer upon reception of an RRCReestablishment message or RRCSetup message, when the selected cell becomes unsuitable (e.g., does not meet a criteria or metric), or when the selected relay UE becomes unsuitable (e.g., does not meet a criteria or metric). [0116]: the base station 806 responds with an RRCSetup message 816 to the remote UE 802. The RRCSetup delivery to the remote UE 802 may use a default sidelink configuration, e.g., on PC5).
Regarding claim(s) 14, Cheng in view of Tenny discloses all features of claim(s) 13 as outlined above.
Cheng discloses wherein, in response to receiving the RRC reestablishment message, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the UE to ([0137]: reception of an RRCReestablishment message or RRCSetup message):
discard the RRC reestablishment message; or
apply the RRC reestablishment message and stop the second timer for RRC reestablishment request ([0137]: The remote UE 1002 may stop the timer upon reception of an RRCReestablishment message or RRCSetup message, when the selected cell becomes unsuitable (e.g., does not meet a criteria or metric)).
Regarding claim(s) 20 (combination of claims 7 and 10), Cheng discloses all features of claim(s) 16 as outlined above.
Cheng does not disclose, but Tenny discloses wherein the at least one controller is further configured to cause the processor to: initiate a second RRC reestablishment procedure in response to the pre-specified condition being met or in response to stopping the first timer for RRC reestablishment request (Fig. 10, [0095]-[0096]: UE 1005 sends a L3 reestablishment request 1030 to target RCU 1009 after receiving, from target RDU 1007, a L2 reestablishment reject 1028 indicating that the UE should attempt re-establishment at L3. [0094]: target cell is connected to different RDU and RCU); and perform at least one of a second cell selection operation, a second relay selection operation, or a second relay reselection operation after initiating the second RRC reestablishment procedure.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the remote UE, as taught by Cheng, to send a L3 reestablishment request after receiving a L2 reestablishment reject when the target cell is connected to different RDU and RCU, as taught by Tenny.
Doing so allows the UE to finish the reestablishment at L3 when the reestablishment at L2 fails (Tenny: Fig. 10).
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng et al. (US 2023/0077496 A1) in view of Tenny et al. (US 2018/0049261 A1) and Zhang et al. (US 2024/0224366 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 12, Cheng in view of Tenny discloses all features of claim(s) 7 as outlined above.
Cheng does not disclose, but Tenny discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the UE to:
transmit a second RRC reestablishment request message via the transceiver to the network node (Fig. 10, [0095]-[0096]: UE 1005 sends a L3 reestablishment request 1030 to target RCU 1009 after receiving, from target RDU 1007, a L2 reestablishment reject 1028 indicating that the UE should attempt re-establishment at L3. [0094]: target cell is connected to different RDU and RCU)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the remote UE, as taught by Cheng, to send a L3 reestablishment request after receiving a L2 reestablishment reject, as taught by Tenny.
Doing so allows the UE to finish the reestablishment at L3 when the reestablishment at L2 fails (Tenny: Fig. 10).
Cheng in view of Tenny does not disclose, but Zhang discloses start a second timer for RRC reestablishment request in response to transmitting the second RRC reestablishment request message ([0066]: In order to resume communication with the base station or the network side, the UE in the connected state needs to re-establish the RRC connection. To achieve the foregoing purpose, the UE performs an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. During initiation of the foregoing procedure, the UE starts a timer T311 for management of the connection resume procedure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the remote UE, as taught by Cheng, to send a L3 reestablishment request after receiving a L2 reestablishment reject, as taught by Tenny, and start a timer T311, as taught by Zhang.
Doing so enables management of the connection resume procedure (Zhang: [0066]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THE HY NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3813. The examiner can normally be reached on Mo-Fr: 8am-4pm.
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/THE HY NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
TheHy.Nguyen@USPTO.gov
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