DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to the application filed on 18 October 2024.
Claims 21-24 are under examination.
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 .
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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)(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 21-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wang et al. (US 2024/0365177 A1).
Regarding claim 21, Wang discloses a method by a user equipment comprising: receiving, from a network device, a message comprising a multicast configuration for multicast reception; and initiating a random access for the multicast reception, wherein the random access is initiated after cell reselection in a case where the user equipment is in an inactive state, or the random access is initiated in a case where the user equipment is in the inactive state and signal quality of a channel between the user equipment and the network device is below a threshold.
In particular, Wang discloses a terminal device receiving multicast MBS configuration information from a network device and receiving multicast MBS based on the configuration information (Wang ¶¶[0005]-[0007], [0041]). Wang expressly addresses reception of multicast MBS by a terminal in RRC_INACTIVE and obtaining target-cell MBS configuration following cell selection/reselection (Wang ¶¶[0045]-[0049], [0061]).
Wang further discloses an embodiment in which a UE in RRC_INACTIVE needs to update its multicast MBS configuration because of cell reselection and therefore initiates an RRC recovery procedure (Wang ¶[0109]). The UE initiates random access by transmitting a preamble, receives a random access response, and transmits an RRC recovery request indicating that MBS configuration is to be updated (Wang ¶¶[0110]-[0114]). The network determines that the RRC recovery is performed for updating the MBS configuration due to cell reselection (Wang ¶[0115]). The network subsequently transmits updated multicast MBS configuration information, which the UE uses to receive the multicast MBS while remaining in RRC_INACTIVE (Wang ¶¶[0117]-[0118]). Thus, Wang discloses initiating random access after cell reselection while the UE is in an inactive state for purposes of multicast reception. Because the claim recites the two random-access conditions in the alternative, disclosure of the cell-reselection alternative satisfies the limitation.
Regarding claim 22, Wang further discloses wherein the message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) release message. Wang expressly discloses that the network device transmits an RRC Release message carrying updated multicast MBS configuration information to the terminal device, after which the terminal remains in RRC_INACTIVE and receives multicast MBS based on the updated configuration (Wang ¶¶[0117]-[0118]).
Regarding claim 23, Wang further discloses wherein the random access is initiated in a case where the multicast configuration is not available in a cell reselected in the cell reselection. Wang discloses determining whether MBS configuration information corresponding to the target/reselected cell is available and, when the terminal does not have the MBS configuration information corresponding to the target cell, initiating the RRC recovery procedure to obtain the applicable MBS configuration information (Wang ¶[0174]). Wang further discloses that the RRC recovery procedure is initiated through random access, including transmission of a preamble and receipt of a random access response (Wang ¶¶[0054]-[0056], [0110]-[0112]). Thus, Wang discloses initiating random access when the multicast configuration is unavailable for the reselected cell.
Regarding claim 24, Wang discloses a user equipment comprising: at least one memory; and at least one hardware processor coupled to the at least one memory, wherein the at least one hardware processor is configured to: receive, from a network device, a message comprising a multicast configuration for multicast reception; and initiate a random access for the multicast reception, wherein the random access is initiated after cell reselection in a case where the user equipment is in an inactive state, or the random access is initiated in a case where the user equipment is in the inactive state and signal quality of a channel between the user equipment and the network device is below a threshold.
Wang discloses a terminal device having a processor and memory configured to perform the disclosed MBS configuration and reception procedures (Wang ¶[0006]). Wang further discloses the same RRC_INACTIVE cell-reselection, multicast-MBS-configuration update, and random-access procedure discussed above with respect to claim 21 (Wang ¶¶[0061], [0109]-[0118]). Accordingly, claim 24 is anticipated for substantially the same reasons set forth above with respect to claim 21.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure (see form 892).
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/Luat Phung/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2468
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