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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 10/25/2024, 07/15/2025, and 11/03/2025 were filed after the mailing date of the application on 10/25/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
(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, 15, 18, 36-37, 46, and 49-50 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Qiu et al. (US 2023/0379992), hereinafter Qiu.
Regarding Claim 1, Qiu teaches: A communication method, performed by a master node (MN), comprising: transmitting, by a central unit (CU) in the MN, a first request message to a distributed unit (DU) in the MN, wherein the first request message comprises indication information: “the first node provides the UE's MCG, i.e., the first node is the MN. In some of these embodiments, the first unit is a CU, the second unit is a DU, the indication is received from the first unit of the second node (i.e., SN-CU), and the indication sent by the first unit of the first node (i.e., MN-CU) to the second unit of the first node (i.e., MN-DU)” (Qiu ¶ 0026), and generating, by the DU in the MN, a medium access control control element (MAC CE) corresponding to the indication information: “For example, the MN-DU can send a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message with the SCG (de)activation indication, such as illustrated in Table 1 above. Alternately, the MN-DU can forward the indication in an appropriate message over the F1-U interface with the MN-CU.” (Qiu ¶ 0091) and “At a high level, a UE's SCell can transition between deactivated and activated states based on explicit commands from the network (e.g., MAC CEs) or expiration of a deactivation timer” (Qiu ¶ 0066); wherein the indication information is configured to perform at least one of following operations: changing at least one of an activation state or a type of a candidate cell or a candidate cell group in the MN or a master cell group (MCG); or changing at least one of an activation state or a type of a candidate cell or a candidate cell group in a secondary node (SN) or a secondary cell group (SCG): “In the following, the term “(de)activation” means “activation or deactivation” unless specifically noted to the contrary or otherwise clear from a particular context” (Qiu ¶ 0079) and “In operation 3, the MN-CU sends the SN-CU the SCG (de)activation indication as part of an Xn-AP procedure (e.g., addition/modification) over the Xn-C interface, which is the CP interface between gNBs. For example, the MN-CU can send an S-NG-RAN ADDITION REQUEST or S-NG-RAN NODE MODIFICATION REQUEST message that includes the SCG (de)activation indication” (Qiu ¶ 0092).
Regarding Claim 15, Qiu teaches: The method according to claim 1, wherein the activation state comprises: activation or deactivation: “the SN-CU can forward the SCG (de)activation indication received in operation 1 to the SN-DU. For example, the SN-CU can send a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message with the SCG (de)activation indication, such as illustrated in Table 1 above” (Qiu ¶ 0087); wherein a type of the candidate cell comprises at least one of: a primary cell (PCell): “primary serving cell (PCell) is defined as the “main” cell serving the wireless device such that both data and control signaling can be transmitted over the PCell, while one or more supplementary or secondary serving cells (SCells) are typically used for transmitting data only. For example, the SCell(s) provide(s) extra bandwidth to enable greater data throughput. A CA-capable UE can be assigned a PCell (or CC) that is always activated, and one or more SCells (or CCs) that can be activated or deactivated dynamically” (Qiu ¶ 0013); a primary secondary cell (PSCell); a special cell (SpCell): “Each of the CGs is a group of serving cells that includes one MAC entity, a set of logical channels with associated RLC entities, a PCell, and optionally one or more SCells. The term “Special Cell” (or “SpCell” for short) refers to the PCell of the MCG or the primary cell of the SCG (PSCell) depending on whether the UE's MAC entity is associated with the MCG or the SCG, respectively. In non-DC operation (e.g., CA), SpCell refers to the PCell” (Qiu ¶ 0016); a secondary cell (SCell): “primary serving cell (PCell) is defined as the “main” cell serving the wireless device such that both data and control signaling can be transmitted over the PCell, while one or more supplementary or secondary serving cells (SCells) are typically used for transmitting data only. For example, the SCell(s) provide(s) extra bandwidth to enable greater data throughput. A CA-capable UE can be assigned a PCell (or CC) that is always activated, and one or more SCells (or CCs) that can be activated or deactivated dynamically” (Qiu ¶ 0013); MCG SCell; or a SCG SCell; or wherein a type of the candidate cell group comprises at least one of a MSG or a SCG: “FIG. 3 is an exemplary state transition diagram for NR SCells. At a high level, a UE's SCell can transition between deactivated and activated states based on explicit commands from the network (e.g., MAC CEs) or expiration of a deactivation timer. Within the activated state, a particular BWP can transition between active and dormant conditions based on DCI received from the network.” (Qiu ¶ 0066).
Regarding Claim 18, Qiu teaches: A communication, performed by a secondary node (SN), comprising: transmitting, by a central unit (CU) in the SN, a second request message to a distributed unit (DU) in the SN, wherein the second request message comprises indication information: “In an alternate embodiment, the SN-CU can send the MN-CU an SCG (de)activation indication via Xn-U, in the same manner as described. This can be considered an SN-initiated SCG (de)activation” (Qiu ¶ 0086), and generating, by the DU in the SN, a medium access control control element (MAC CE) corresponding to the indication information: “For example, the MN-DU can send a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message with the SCG (de)activation indication, such as illustrated in Table 1 above. Alternately, the MN-DU can forward the indication in an appropriate message over the F1-U interface with the MN-CU.” (Qiu ¶ 0091), while this quoted section references the MN and not the SN, it is clear from the above context that this process would apply during an SN-initiated SCG (de)actiation; wherein the indication information is configured to perform at least one of following operations: changing at least one of an activation state or a type of a candidate cell or a candidate cell group in the MN or a master cell group (MCG); or changing at least one of an activation state or a type of the candidate cell, or a candidate cell group in a secondary node (SN) or a secondary cell group (SCG): “In operation 2, the SN-CU can forward the SCG (de)activation indication received in operation 1 to the SN-DU. For example, the SN-CU can send a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message with the SCG (de)activation indication, such as illustrated in Table 1 above. Alternately, the SN-CU can forward the indication in an appropriate message over the F1-U interface with the SN-DU. In operation 3, based on the received indication, the SN-DU (de)activates the UE's SCG resources. In operation 4, the MN-CU can send the SCG (de)activation indication to the MN-DU” (Qiu ¶ 0087).
Regarding Claim 36, Qiu teaches: A communication method, performed by a terminal, comprising: receiving a candidate cell or a candidate cell group configured by a master node (MN): “primary serving cell (PCell) is defined as the “main” cell serving the wireless device such that both data and control signaling can be transmitted over the PCell, while one or more supplementary or secondary serving cells (SCells) are typically used for transmitting data only. For example, the SCell(s) provide(s) extra bandwidth to enable greater data throughput. A CA-capable UE can be assigned a PCell (or CC) that is always activated, and one or more SCells (or CCs) that can be activated or deactivated dynamically” (Qiu ¶ 0013), or a candidate cell or a candidate cell group configured by a secondary node (SN); wherein at least one of an activation state or a type of the candidate cell or the candidate cell group in the MN or a master cell group (MCG): “In the following, the term “(de)activation” means “activation or deactivation” unless specifically noted to the contrary or otherwise clear from a particular context” (Qiu ¶ 0079) and “In operation 3, the MN-CU sends the SN-CU the SCG (de)activation indication as part of an Xn-AP procedure (e.g., addition/modification) over the Xn-C interface, which is the CP interface between gNBs. For example, the MN-CU can send an S-NG-RAN ADDITION REQUEST or S-NG-RAN NODE MODIFICATION REQUEST message that includes the SCG (de)activation indication” (Qiu ¶ 0092), and/or at least one of an activation state or a type of the candidate cell or the candidate cell group in the SN or a secondary cell group (SCG) are changed via indication information; wherein the indication information is comprised in at least one of a first request message: “the first node provides the UE's MCG, i.e., the first node is the MN. In some of these embodiments, the first unit is a CU, the second unit is a DU, the indication is received from the first unit of the second node (i.e., SN-CU), and the indication sent by the first unit of the first node (i.e., MN-CU) to the second unit of the first node (i.e., MN-DU)” (Qiu ¶ 0026) or a second request message; in the case that the indication information is comprised in the first request message, the first request message is transmitted by a central unit (CU) in the MN to a distributed unit (DU) in the MN, and a medium access control control element (MAC CE) corresponding to the indication information is generated by the DU in the MN: “In operation 5, the MN-DU forwards the SCG (de)activation indication to the UE, e.g., via a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE). In a variant, if the SCG (de)activation indication indicates SCG activation, the SN can communicate with the UE via the SCG after activating the SCG resources in operation 3” (Qiu ¶ 0089); in the case that the indication information is comprised in the second request message, the second request message is transmitted by a CU in the SN to a DU in the SN, and a MAC CE corresponding to the indication information is generated by the DU in the SN: “In an alternate embodiment, the SN-CU can send the MN-CU an SCG (de)activation indication via Xn-U, in the same manner as described. This can be considered SN-initiated SCG (de)activation” (Qiu ¶ 0086).
Regarding Claim 37, Qiu teaches: The method according to claim 36, further comprising: determining the at least one of the activation state or the type of the candidate cell, or the at least one of the activation state or the type of the candidate cell group by receiving a radio interface signaling transmitted by the MN or the SN : “t a high level, a UE's SCell can transition between deactivated and activated states based on explicit commands from the network (e.g., MAC CEs) or expiration of a deactivation timer. Within the activated state, a particular BWP can transition between active and dormant conditions based on DCI received from the network” (Qiu ¶ 0066).
Regarding Claim 46, Qiu teaches: A communication device, comprising: a processor and a memory for storing a computer program, wherein when the computer program stored in the memory is executed by the processor, the communication device is caused to implement the method according to claim 36: “UE 1100 can include a processor 1110 (also referred to as “processing circuitry”) that can be operably connected to a program memory 1120 and/or a data memory 1130 via a bus 1170 that can comprise parallel address and data buses, serial ports, or other methods and/or structures known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Program memory 1120 can store software code, programs, and/or instructions (collectively shown as computer program product 1121 in FIG. 11) that, when executed by processor 1110, can configure and/or facilitate UE 1100 to perform various operations, including operations corresponding to various exemplary methods described herein” (Qiu ¶ 0118).
Regarding Claim 49, Qiu teaches: The method according to claim 1 further comprising configuring, by the MN, the candidate cell: “primary serving cell (PCell) is defined as the “main” cell serving the wireless device such that both data and control signaling can be transmitted over the PCell, while one or more supplementary or secondary serving cells (SCells) are typically used for transmitting data only. For example, the SCell(s) provide(s) extra bandwidth to enable greater data throughput. A CA-capable UE can be assigned a PCell (or CC) that is always activated, and one or more SCells (or CCs) that can be activated or deactivated dynamically” (Qiu ¶ 0013) or the candidate cell group for a terminal.
Regarding Claim 50, Qiu teaches: The method according to claim 18, further comprising configuring, by the SN, the candidate cell: “primary serving cell (PCell) is defined as the “main” cell serving the wireless device such that both data and control signaling can be transmitted over the PCell, while one or more supplementary or secondary serving cells (SCells) are typically used for transmitting data only. For example, the SCell(s) provide(s) extra bandwidth to enable greater data throughput. A CA-capable UE can be assigned a PCell (or CC) that is always activated, and one or more SCells (or CCs) that can be activated or deactivated dynamically” (Qiu ¶ 0013) or the candidate cell group for a terminal.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 2, 13, 19, and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu as applied to claims 1 and 18 above, and further in view of Shi (US 2020/0337098), hereinafter Shi.
Regarding Claim 2, Qiu teaches: The method according to claim 1, further comprising: transmitting the first request message to the SN: “In other of these embodiments, the first unit is a DU, the second unit is a CU, the indication is received from the UE (e.g., as a MAC CE) via the MCG provided by the first node, and the indication is sent by the first unit of the first node (i.e., MN-DU) to the second unit of the first node (i.e., MN-CU)” (Qiu ¶ 0110).
Qiu does not teach: receiving a second request message from the SN.
Regarding Claim 2, Shi teaches: receiving a second request message from the SN: “When the first network node initiates a modification process, a request message may be sent to the second network node, a feedback message may be received from the second network node in response to the request message, DRB ID information may be acquired from the feedback message, and a DRB may be established based on the DRB ID information” (Shi ¶ 0037).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosure of Qiu with Shi for the purpose of solving a problem of mismatched UE IDs between a MN and SN. According to Shi: “In a long term evolution (LTE) dual connectivity (DC) scenario, when a bearer context is needed to be modified, established or released by a bearer of a secondary node (SN), an SeNB Modification process needs to be initiated. The SeNB modification process may be initiated by a master node (MN) or a SN. However, when the SN on a network side is independently responsible for establishment, modification and release of the DRB of the SN, there may be a problem that IDs of different DRBs on a user equipment (UE) side are mixed up because the DRB ID usage of the MN is not known” (Shi ¶ 0003).
Regarding Claim 13, Qiu teaches: The method according to claim 2.
Qiu does not teach: receiving a first feedback message transmitted by the SN, wherein the first feedback message indicates acceptance, partial acceptance, or rejection of the first request message; or transmitting a second feedback message to the SN, wherein the second feedback message indicates acceptance, partial acceptance, or rejection of the second request message.
Regarding Claim 13, Shi teaches: receiving a first feedback message transmitted by the SN, wherein the first feedback message indicates acceptance, partial acceptance, or rejection of the first request message: “When the first network node initiates a modification process, a request message may be sent to the second network node, a feedback message may be received from the second network node in response to the request message, DRB ID information may be acquired from the feedback message, and a DRB may be established based on the DRB ID information” (Shi ¶ 0037).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosure of Qiu with Shi for the purpose of solving a problem of mismatched UE IDs between a MN and SN. According to Shi: “In a long term evolution (LTE) dual connectivity (DC) scenario, when a bearer context is needed to be modified, established or released by a bearer of a secondary node (SN), an SeNB Modification process needs to be initiated. The SeNB modification process may be initiated by a master node (MN) or a SN. However, when the SN on a network side is independently responsible for establishment, modification and release of the DRB of the SN, there may be a problem that IDs of different DRBs on a user equipment (UE) side are mixed up because the DRB ID usage of the MN is not known” (Shi ¶ 0003).
Regarding Claim 19, Qiu teaches: The method according to claim 18, receiving a first request message from the MN: “In other of these embodiments, the first unit is a DU, the second unit is a CU, the indication is received from the UE (e.g., as a MAC CE) via the MCG provided by the first node, and the indication is sent by the first unit of the first node (i.e., MN-DU) to the second unit of the first node (i.e., MN-CU)” (Qiu ¶ 0110) and “In an alternate embodiment, the SN-CU can send the MN-CU an SCG (de)activation indication via Xn-U, in the same manner as described. This can be considered an SN-initiated SCG (de)activation” (Qiu ¶ 0086).
Qiu does not teach: transmitting the second request message to the MN.
Regarding Claim 19, Shi teaches: transmitting the second request message to the MN: “When the first network node initiates a modification process, a request message may be sent to the second network node, a feedback message may be received from the second network node in response to the request message, DRB ID information may be acquired from the feedback message, and a DRB may be established based on the DRB ID information” (Shi ¶ 0037).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosure of Qiu with Shi for the purpose of solving a problem of mismatched UE IDs between a MN and SN. According to Shi: “In a long term evolution (LTE) dual connectivity (DC) scenario, when a bearer context is needed to be modified, established or released by a bearer of a secondary node (SN), an SeNB Modification process needs to be initiated. The SeNB modification process may be initiated by a master node (MN) or a SN. However, when the SN on a network side is independently responsible for establishment, modification and release of the DRB of the SN, there may be a problem that IDs of different DRBs on a user equipment (UE) side are mixed up because the DRB ID usage of the MN is not known” (Shi ¶ 0003).
Regarding Claim 30, Qiu teaches: The method according to claim 19.
Qiu does not teach: receiving a first feedback message transmitted by the SN, wherein the first feedback message indicates acceptance, partial acceptance, or rejection of the first request message; or transmitting a second feedback message to the SN, wherein the second feedback message indicates acceptance, partial acceptance, or rejection of the second request message.
Regarding Claim 30, Shi teaches: transmitting a first feedback message to the MN, wherein the first feedback message indicates acceptance, partial acceptance, or rejection of the first request message: “When the first network node initiates a modification process, a request message may be sent to the second network node, a feedback message may be received from the second network node in response to the request message, DRB ID information may be acquired from the feedback message, and a DRB may be established based on the DRB ID information” (Shi ¶ 0037).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosure of Qiu with Shi for the purpose of solving a problem of mismatched UE IDs between a MN and SN. According to Shi: “In a long term evolution (LTE) dual connectivity (DC) scenario, when a bearer context is needed to be modified, established or released by a bearer of a secondary node (SN), an SeNB Modification process needs to be initiated. The SeNB modification process may be initiated by a master node (MN) or a SN. However, when the SN on a network side is independently responsible for establishment, modification and release of the DRB of the SN, there may be a problem that IDs of different DRBs on a user equipment (UE) side are mixed up because the DRB ID usage of the MN is not known” (Shi ¶ 0003).
Claims 3, 5, 6, 10, 20, 22, 23, and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu and Shi as applied to claims 2 and 19 above, and further in view of Shih et al. (US 2019/0166646), hereinafter Shih.
Regarding Claim 3, Qiu and Shi teach: The method according to claim 2.
Qiu and Shi do not teach: wherein a type of the indication information comprises at least one of: a radio resource control (RRC); a medium access control control element (MAC CE); downlink control information (DCI); a packet data convergence protocol control protocol data unit (PDCP Control PDU); or an interface signaling between base stations.
Regarding Claim 3, Shih teaches: wherein a type of the indication information comprises at least one of: a radio resource control (RRC): “In some implementations, the first configuration information (e.g., SCG-ConfigInfo or CG-ConfigInfo) contained in the inter-node RRC message (e.g., an (S)CG-ConfigInfo message, an SN Addition Request message) may further indicate whether the MCG bearer (e.g., MN terminated MCG bearer) is built or not. The inter-node messages are sent either across the X2, Xn or the NG interface” (Shih ¶ 0039); a medium access control control element (MAC CE); downlink control information (DCI); a packet data convergence protocol control protocol data unit (PDCP Control PDU); or an interface signaling between base stations.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosure of Qiu and Shi with Shih for the purpose of providing a method for handing failure of SN addition in an improved multi-connectivity scheme. According to Shih: “there is a need in the art for an improved multi-connectivity scheme for handling the failure of SN addition” (Shih ¶ 0005).
Regarding Claim 5, Qiu and Shi teach: The method according to claim 3.
Qiu and Shi do not teach: a type of the indication information is the RRC, the MAC CE, or the PDCP Control PDU, and the method further comprises: transmitting first auxiliary indication information corresponding to the indication information to the SN; or wherein the indication information is the interface signaling between base stations, and the method further comprises: transmitting second auxiliary indication information corresponding to the indication information to the SN.
Regarding Claim 5, Shih teaches: a type of the indication information is the RRC: “In some implementations, the first configuration information (e.g., SCG-ConfigInfo or CG-ConfigInfo) contained in the inter-node RRC message (e.g., an (S)CG-ConfigInfo message, an SN Addition Request message) may further indicate whether the MCG bearer (e.g., MN terminated MCG bearer) is built or not. The inter-node messages are sent either across the X2, Xn or the NG interface” (Shih ¶ 0039), the MAC CE, or the PDCP Control PDU, and the method further comprises: transmitting first auxiliary indication information corresponding to the indication information to the SN: “In some implementations, the first configuration information may further indicate the target SN (e.g., the SN 15) to build the MN terminated MCG bearer, the split bearer or the SCG bearer. For example, the first configuration information may include a container (e.g., RadioBearerConfig) to request and indicate the radio bearer configuration and restriction (e.g., L2 buffer size share for the UE capability coordination purpose) in the target SN. For example, the container may include the IE (e.g., DRB-ToAddModList or DRB-ToAddModListSCG) about the SCG DRB configuration. This IE may include a list of DRB configuration (e.g., DRB-InfoListSCG). The DRB configuration in the list may include DRB-specific information containing, for example, at least one of: the DRB ID, the PDCP configuration, the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) configuration, the EPS bearer ID or the PDU session ID, the QoS flow ID, and the DRB type” (Shih ¶ 0039); or wherein the indication information is the interface signaling between base stations, and the method further comprises: transmitting second auxiliary indication information corresponding to the indication information to the SN.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosure of Qiu and Shi with Shih for the purpose of providing a method for handing failure of SN addition in an improved multi-connectivity scheme. According to Shih: “there is a need in the art for an improved multi-connectivity scheme for handling the failure of SN addition” (Shih ¶ 0005).
Regarding Claim 6, Qui and Shi teach: The method according to claim 5.
Qui and Shi do not teach: the first auxiliary indication information comprises at least one of following information: change information of the activation state or the type of the candidate cell, or change information of the activation state or the type of the candidate cell group; information of the activation state or the type of the candidate cell, or information of the activation state or the type of the candidate cell group; or information of a type of a radio interface signaling; or wherein the second auxiliary indication information comprises information of a type of a radio interface signaling, and the information of the type of the radio interface signaling comprises at least one of: an RRC; an MAC CE; DCI; or a PDCP Control PDU.
Regarding Claim 6, Shih teaches: the first auxiliary indication information comprises at least one of following information: change information of the activation state or the type of the candidate cell: “In some implementations, the target SN 15 may include the changed configuration in the second configuration information, compared to the configuration from the first configuration information. For example, based on the configuration received in the first configuration information from the MN 13, the SN 15 may change the configuration and notify the MN 13 of the changed configuration in the second configuration information” (Shih ¶ 0045), or change information of the activation state or the type of the candidate cell group; information of the activation state or the type of the candidate cell, or information of the activation state or the type of the candidate cell group; or information of a type of a radio interface signaling; or wherein the second auxiliary indication information comprises information of a type of a radio interface signaling, and the information of the type of the radio interface signaling comprises at least one of: an RRC; an MAC CE; DCI; or a PDCP Control PDU.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosure of Qiu and Shi with Shih for the purpose of providing a method for handing failure of SN addition in an improved multi-connectivity scheme. According to Shih: “there is a need in the art for an improved multi-connectivity scheme for handling the failure of SN addition” (Shih ¶ 0005).
Regarding Claim 10, Qiu and Shi teach: The method according to claim 6.
Qiu and Shi do not teach: the information of the type of the radio interface signaling is an RRC, and the first auxiliary indication information or the second auxiliary indication information further comprises at least one of following radio interface signaling transmission modes: an MCG signaling radio bearer (SRB); an SCG signaling radio bearer (SRB); an MN-anchored split SRB; or an SN-anchored split SRB.
Regarding Claim 10, Shih teaches: the information of the type of the radio interface signaling is an RRC: “In some implementations, the first configuration information (e.g., SCG-ConfigInfo or CG-ConfigInfo) contained in the inter-node RRC message (e.g., an (S)CG-ConfigInfo message, an SN Addition Request message) may further indicate whether the MCG bearer (e.g., MN terminated MCG bearer) is built or not. The inter-node messages are sent either across the X2, Xn or the NG interface” (Shih ¶ 0039), and the first auxiliary indication information or the second auxiliary indication information further comprises at least one of following radio interface signaling transmission modes: an MCG signaling radio bearer (SRB); an SCG signaling radio bearer (SRB): “In some implementations, the RRC message (e.g., RRC (Connection) Reconfiguration message) may include the radio bearer configuration (e.g., RadioBearerConfig) which consists of the list of DRB to be released (e.g., IE DRB-ToReleaseList), the list of DRBs to be added or modified (e.g., IE DRB-ToAddModList) and the list of Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs) to be added or modified (e.g., IE SRB-ToAddModList)” (Shih ¶ 0051); an MN-anchored split SRB; or an SN-anchored split SRB.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosure of Qiu and Shi with Shih for the purpose of providing a method for handing failure of SN addition in an improved multi-connectivity scheme. According to Shih: “there is a need in the art for an improved multi-connectivity scheme for handling the failure of SN addition” (Shih ¶ 0005).
Regarding Claim 20, Qiu and Shi teach: The method according to claim 19.
Qiu and Shi do not teach: a type of the indication information comprises at least one of: a radio resource control (RRC); a medium access control control element (MAC CE); downlink control information (DCI); or a packet data convergence protocol control protocol data unit (PDCP Control PDU); or an interface signaling between base stations.
Regarding Claim 20, Shih teaches: a type of the indication information comprises at least one of: a radio resource control (RRC): “In some implementations, the first configuration information (e.g., SCG-ConfigInfo or CG-ConfigInfo) contained in the inter-node RRC message (e.g., an (S)CG-ConfigInfo message, an SN Addition Request message) may further indicate whether the MCG bearer (e.g., MN terminated MCG bearer) is built or not. The inter-node messages are sent either across the X2, Xn or the NG interface” (Shih ¶ 0039).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosure of Qiu and Shi with Shih for the purpose of providing a method for handing failure of SN addition in an improved multi-connectivity scheme. According to Shih: “there is a need in the art for an improved multi-connectivity scheme for handling the failure of SN addition” (Shih ¶ 0005).
Regarding Claim 22, Qiu and Shi teach: The method according to claim 20.
Qiu and Shi do not teach: the indication information is the RRC, the MAC CE, or the PDCP Control PDU, and the method further comprises: transmitting third auxiliary indication information corresponding to the indication information to the MN; or wherein the indication information is the interface signaling between base stations, and the method further comprises: transmitting fourth auxiliary indication information corresponding to the indication information to the MN.
Regarding Claim 22, Shih teaches: the indication information is the RRC: “In some implementations, the first configuration information (e.g., SCG-ConfigInfo or CG-ConfigInfo) contained in the inter-node RRC message (e.g., an (S)CG-ConfigInfo message, an SN Addition Request message) may further indicate whether the MCG bearer (e.g., MN terminated MCG bearer) is built or not. The inter-node messages are sent either across the X2, Xn or the NG interface” (Shih ¶ 0039), the MAC CE, or the PDCP Control PDU, and the method further comprises: transmitting third auxiliary indication information corresponding to the indication information to the MN: “In some implementations, the first configuration information may further indicate the target SN (e.g., the SN 15) to build the MN terminated MCG bearer, the split bearer or the SCG bearer. For example, the first configuration information may include a container (e.g., RadioBearerConfig) to request and indicate the radio bearer configuration and restriction (e.g., L2 buffer size share for the UE capability coordination purpose) in the target SN. For example, the container may include the IE (e.g., DRB-ToAddModList or DRB-ToAddModListSCG) about the SCG DRB configuration. This IE may include a list of DRB configuration (e.g., DRB-InfoListSCG). The DRB configuration in the list may include DRB-specific information containing, for example, at least one of: the DRB ID, the PDCP configuration, the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) configuration, the EPS bearer ID or the PDU session ID, the QoS flow ID, and the DRB type” (Shih ¶ 0039).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosure of Qiu and Shi with Shih for the purpose of providing a method for handing failure of SN addition in an improved multi-connectivity scheme. According to Shih: “there is a need in the art for an improved multi-connectivity scheme for handling the failure of SN addition” (Shih ¶ 0005).
Regarding Claim 23, Qui and Shi teach: The method according to claim 22.
Qui and Shi do not teach: the third auxiliary indication information comprises at least one of following information: change information of the at least one of the activation state or the type of the candidate cell, or change information of the at least one of the activation state or the type of the candidate cell group; information of the at least one of the activation state or the type of the candidate cell, or information of the at least one of the activation state or the type of the candidate cell group; or information of a type of a radio interface signaling; wherein the fourth auxiliary indication information comprises information of a type of a radio interface signaling, and the information of the type of the radio interface signaling comprises at least one of: an RRC; an MAC CE; DCI; or a PDCP Control PDU.
Regarding Claim 23, Shih teaches: the third auxiliary indication information comprises at least one of following information: change information of the at least one of the activation state or the type of the candidate cell: “In some implementations, the target SN 15 may include the changed configuration in the second configuration information, compared to the configuration from the first configuration information. For example, based on the configuration received in the first configuration information from the MN 13, the SN 15 may change the configuration and notify the MN 13 of the changed configuration in the second configuration information” (Shih ¶ 0045).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosure of Qiu and Shi with Shih for the purpose of providing a method for handing failure of SN addition in an improved multi-connectivity scheme. According to Shih: “there is a need in the art for an improved multi-connectivity scheme for handling the failure of SN addition” (Shih ¶ 0005).
Regarding Claim 27, Qiu and Shi teach: The method according to claim 23.
Qiu and Shi do not teach: the information of the type of the radio interface signaling is the RRC, and the third auxiliary indication information or the fourth auxiliary indication information further comprises at least one of following radio interface signaling transmission modes: an MCG signaling radio bearer (SRB); an SCG signaling radio bearer (SRB); an MN-anchored split SRB; or an SN-anchored split SRB.
Regarding Claim 10, Shih teaches: the information of the type of the radio interface signaling is an RRC: “In some implementations, the first configuration information (e.g., SCG-ConfigInfo or CG-ConfigInfo) contained in the inter-node RRC message (e.g., an (S)CG-ConfigInfo message, an SN Addition Request message) may further indicate whether the MCG bearer (e.g., MN terminated MCG bearer) is built or not. The inter-node messages are sent either across the X2, Xn or the NG interface” (Shih ¶ 0039), and the third auxiliary indication information or the fourth auxiliary indication information further comprises at least one of following radio interface signaling transmission modes: an MCG signaling radio bearer (SRB); an SCG signaling radio bearer (SRB): “In some implementations, the RRC message (e.g., RRC (Connection) Reconfiguration message) may include the radio bearer configuration (e.g., RadioBearerConfig) which consists of the list of DRB to be released (e.g., IE DRB-ToReleaseList), the list of DRBs to be added or modified (e.g., IE DRB-ToAddModList) and the list of Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs) to be added or modified (e.g., IE SRB-ToAddModList)” (Shih ¶ 0051); an MN-anchored split SRB; or an SN-anchored split SRB.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosure of Qiu and Shi with Shih for the purpose of providing a method for handing failure of SN addition in an improved multi-connectivity scheme. According to Shih: “there is a need in the art for an improved multi-connectivity scheme for handling the failure of SN addition” (Shih ¶ 0005).
Conclusion
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/B.D.L./Examiner, Art Unit 2473
/BRADLEY D LYTLE JR./Examiner, Art Unit 2473
/KWANG B YAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2473
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