Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/861,097

OPERATION METHOD OF UE RELATED TO RLF IN MULTI-PATH RELAY IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §102§112
Filed
Oct 28, 2024
Priority
Apr 27, 2022 — RE 10-2022-0052276 +5 more
Examiner
AFSHAR, KAMRAN
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
LG Electronics Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
67%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 2m
Est. Remaining
82%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 67% — above average
67%
Career Allowance Rate
196 granted / 291 resolved
+7.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+14.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 2m
Avg Prosecution
6 currently pending
Career history
299
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
15.7%
-24.3% vs TC avg
§103
35.8%
-4.2% vs TC avg
§102
25.1%
-14.9% vs TC avg
§112
11.3%
-28.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 291 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §112
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 . Priority Applicant cannot rely upon the certified copy of the foreign priority application to overcome this rejection because a translation of said application has not been made of record in accordance with 37 CFR 1.55. When an English language translation of a non-English language foreign application is required, the translation must be that of the certified copy (of the foreign application as filed) submitted together with a statement that the translation of the certified copy is accurate. See MPEP §§ 215 and 216. Drawings The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “ detecting radio link failure (RLF) in either of the first path and the second path “ , “ , the remote UE reports the RLF to the BS through a message “, “ a Sidelink Signaling Radio Bearer through a path in which the RLF is not detected “ , “ SRB is SRB 1 and the message is SidelinUEInformation “, “ a cause value of the RRCReconfigurationRequest message is Uu link RLF “, “ both the first path and the second path are activated“ , “ remote UE transmits all subsequent data of the different data through the path in which the RLF is not detected “ , “ detecting the RLF of Uu link related to the first path, the remote UE reports the RLF of the Uu link to the BS through the second path”, “ detecting the RLF of sidelink related to the second path, the remote UE reports the RLF of the sidelink to the BS through the first path ” , ” remote UE receives a notification message related to the RLF of the Uu link from the relay UE”, “ based on reception of the notification message, the remote UE transmits a message notifying the RLF of the Uu link to the BS through the first path” , “ the remote UE triggers relay re-selection based on reception of the notification message” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance. Specification The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. The following title is suggested: A method and device for operating a remote user equipment (UE) or a relay UE when radio link failure (RLF) is detected in a multi-path relay. Claim Objections Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claims 8-10 recite “wherein,” which should be “wherein”. Claim 14 is missing “:” after the word “following”. Thus, claim 14 should be changed to: A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing the following: 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. Claims 2-4 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 1 recites the limitation " the remote UE " in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 2 recites the limitation "the SRB" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 3 recites the limitation "the SRB" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 4-12 are rejected since they are either directly or indirectly dependent on a rejected claims 1-3. 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 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/102(a)( 2) as being anticipated by PALADUGU (US 20240205764 A1, PCT filing date 6/7/2021). With respect to claims 14, 13, 1, PALADUGU discloses claim 14, A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing the following: (See e.g. [0056]- a UE 350 in an access network. .. a controller/processor 375. 0059] The controller/processor 359 can be associated with a memory 360 that stores program codes and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium.) / claim 13, A remote user equipment (UE) comprising: at least one processor; and at least one computer memory operably connected to the at least one processor and configured to store instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to perform operations including (See e.g. [0056]- a UE 350 in an access network. .. a controller/processor 375. 0059] The controller/processor 359 can be associated with a memory 360 that stores program codes and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium.) / and Claim 1, A method (See e.g. Figs, 4A-4B and 5, [0066]) comprising: establishing a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a base station (BS) by the remote user equipment (UE) (See 402 of Figs, 4A-4B and 502 of Fig. 5) and [0067]-UE 504 in an RRC Reconfiguration message. At 518, the remote UE 502 may inform the MN 506 about the local connection that is available using an RRC message.); establishing a PC5 RRC connection with a relay UE by the remote UE (See e.g. [0067]- The RRC message may be a sidelinkUEInformationNR message (in case the local link is a PC5 link) ; transmitting data to the BS (See e.g. [0067]- the remote UE 502 may transmit to the MN 506…. the remote UE 502 and the network 510 via the MN 506 to carry data traffic 536.) via one path of i) a first path for transmitting data directly to the BS (See e.g. [0067]- The data traffic 536 may include a first leg 536a transmitted between the remote UE 502 and the MN 506 and a second leg 536b transmitted between the MN 506 and the network 510.) or ii) a second path for transmitting data to the BS via the relay UE, by the remote UE (See e.g. or split bearers may be configured between the remote UE 502 and the network 510 via the relay & See e.g. [0066]- at the remote UE 402 including one direct Uu link to the network and one relayed link to the network via a relay UE 404. The base station involved in the direct Uu link and the base station involved in the relayed link may be the same or may be different. FIG. 4B illustrates a dual connectivity configuration at the remote UE 402 including a first relayed link to the network via a first relay UE 404a and a second relayed link to the network via a second relay UE 404b. The base station involved in the first relayed link and the base station involved in the second relayed link may be the same or may be different.) , wherein, based on detecting radio link failure (RLF) in either of the first path and the second path (See e.g. [0080]- upon detecting Uu radio link failure (RLF) (for the direct Uu link) or PC5/non-3GPP RAT RLF (for the relayed link)) , the remote UE reports the RLF to the BS through a message based on a Sidelink Signaling Radio Bearer through a path in which the RLF is not detected (See e.g. [0080]- but may transmit a failure indication to the network via the non-RLF (i.e., working) path… The failure information may include available Uu measurements, available PC5/non-3GPP RAT measurements on the serving relay path (e.g., the sidelink discovery (SD)—reference signal received power (RSRP) (SD-RSRP)), and/or the failure cause. For MCG RLF, either the split signaling radio bearer (SRB) 1 (SRB1) or the SRB3 (if available) may be used to transmit the failure indication. For SCG RLF, the SRB1 may be used to transmit the failure indication.). Regarding claim 2, PALADUGU discloses the SRB is SRB 1 and the message is SidelinUEInformation. (See e.g. [0080]- path (e.g., the sidelink discovery (SD)—reference signal received power (RSRP) (SD-RSRP)), and/or the failure cause. For MCG RLF, either the split signaling radio bearer (SRB) 1 (SRB1) or the SRB3 (if available) may be used to transmit the failure indication. For SCG RLF, the SRB1 may be used to transmit the failure indication. Upon receiving the failure indication, the network may perform one of an inter-MN change (from a source MN to a target MN) in case an MCG failure indication is received, or an inter-SN change (from a source SN to a target SN) in case an SCG failure indication is received. The network may also provide the target relay UE information when a relay path is present in the target connection and [0075]- the remote UE 1102 may transmit the role switch request in a sidelinkUEInformationNR message). Regarding claim 3, PALADUGU discloses the SRB is SRB 3 and the message is RRCReconfigurationRequest (See e.g. [0080]- the split signaling radio bearer (SRB) 1 (SRB1) or the SRB3 (if available) may be used to transmit the failure indication. & [0075]- the remote UE 1102 may transmit the role switch request in a sidelinkUEInformationNR message or a non-3GPPConnectionInformation message). Regarding claim 4, PALADUGU discloses a cause value of the RRCReconfigurationRequest message is Uu link RLF (See e.g. [0080]- the transmission of the failure indication may be associated with a timer. The failure information may include available Uu measurements, available PC5/non-3GPP RAT measurements on the serving relay path (e.g., the sidelink discovery (SD)—reference signal received power (RSRP) (SD-RSRP)), and/or the failure cause. For MCG RLF, either the split signaling radio bearer (SRB) 1 (SRB1) or the SRB3 (if available) may be used to transmit the failure indication. For SCG RLF, the SRB1 may be used to transmit the failure indication. & [0075]- 0075]- the remote UE 1102 may transmit the role switch request in a sidelinkUEInformationNR message or a non-3GPPConnectionInformation message). Regarding claim 5, PALADUGU discloses both the first path and the second path are activated (See e.g. FIG. 4A illustrates a dual connectivity configuration at the remote UE 402 including one direct Uu link to the network and one relayed link to the network via a relay UE 404). Regarding claim 6, PALADUGU discloses the remote UE transmits different data on the first path and the second path before detecting the RLF (See e.g. [0067]- MCG bearers or split bearers may be configured between the remote UE 502 and the network 510 via the MN 506 to carry data traffic 536. The data traffic 536 may include a first leg 536a transmitted between the remote UE 502 and the MN 506). Regarding claim 7, PALADUGU discloses the remote UE transmits all subsequent data of the different data through the path in which the RLF is not detected (See e.g. [0067]- SCG bearers or split bearers may be configured between the remote UE 502 and the network 510 via the relay UE 504 and the SN 508 to carry data traffic 538. In particular, the MN 506 may transmit the relaying configuration for SCG bearers or split bearers to the relay UE 504.). Regarding claim 8, PALADUGU discloses based on detecting the RLF of Uu link related to the first path, the remote UE reports the RLF of the Uu link to the BS through the second path (See e.g. [0080]- upon detecting Uu radio link failure (RLF) (for the direct Uu link) or PC5/non-3GPP RAT RLF (for the relayed link), the remote UE may not initiate the RRC reestablishment procedure, but may transmit a failure indication to the network via the non-RLF (i.e., working) path (either the PC5/non-3GPP RAT link or the direct Uu link). In one configuration, the transmission of the failure indication may be associated with a timer. The failure information may include available Uu measurements, available PC5/non-3GPP RAT measurements on the serving relay path (e.g., the sidelink discovery (SD)—reference signal received power (RSRP) (SD-RSRP)), and/or the failure cause. For MCG RLF, either the split signaling radio bearer (SRB) 1 (SRB1) or the SRB3 (if available) may be used to transmit the failure indication. For SCG RLF, the SRB1 may be used to transmit the failure indication.). Regarding claim 9, PALADUGU discloses based on detecting the RLF of sidelink related to the second path, the remote UE reports the RLF of the sidelink to the BS through the first path (See e.g. [0080]- upon detecting Uu radio link failure (RLF) (for the direct Uu link) or PC5/non-3GPP RAT RLF (for the relayed link), the remote UE may not initiate the RRC reestablishment procedure, but may transmit a failure indication to the network via the non-RLF (i.e., working) path (either the PC5/non-3GPP RAT link or the direct Uu link). In one configuration, the transmission of the failure indication may be associated with a timer. The failure information may include available Uu measurements, available PC5/non-3GPP RAT measurements on the serving relay path (e.g., the sidelink discovery (SD)—reference signal received power (RSRP) (SD-RSRP)), and/or the failure cause. For MCG RLF, either the split signaling radio bearer (SRB) 1 (SRB1) or the SRB3 (if available) may be used to transmit the failure indication. For SCG RLF, the SRB1 may be used to transmit the failure indication.). Regarding claim 10, PALADUGU discloses based on the relay UE detecting the RLF of the Uu link, the remote UE receives a notification message related to the RLF of the Uu link from the relay UE (See e.g. [0080]- upon detecting Uu radio link failure (RLF) (for the direct Uu link) or PC5/non-3GPP RAT RLF (for the relayed link), the remote UE may not initiate the RRC reestablishment procedure, but may transmit a failure indication to the network via the non-RLF (i.e., working) path (either the PC5/non-3GPP RAT link or the direct Uu link). In one configuration, the transmission of the failure indication may be associated with a timer. The failure information may include available Uu measurements, available PC5/non-3GPP RAT measurements on the serving relay path (e.g., the sidelink discovery (SD)—reference signal received power (RSRP) (SD-RSRP)), and/or the failure cause. For MCG RLF, either the split signaling radio bearer (SRB) 1 (SRB1) or the SRB3 (if available) may be used to transmit the failure indication. For SCG RLF, the SRB1 may be used to transmit the failure indication.). Regarding claim 11, PALADUGU discloses based on reception of the notification message, the remote UE transmits a message notifying the RLF of the Uu link to the BS through the first path (See e.g. [0080]- upon detecting Uu radio link failure (RLF) (for the direct Uu link) or PC5/non-3GPP RAT RLF (for the relayed link), the remote UE may not initiate the RRC reestablishment procedure, but may transmit a failure indication to the network via the non-RLF (i.e., working) path (either the PC5/non-3GPP RAT link or the direct Uu link). In one configuration, the transmission of the failure indication may be associated with a timer. The failure information may include available Uu measurements, available PC5/non-3GPP RAT measurements on the serving relay path (e.g., the sidelink discovery (SD)—reference signal received power (RSRP) (SD-RSRP)), and/or the failure cause. For MCG RLF, either the split signaling radio bearer (SRB) 1 (SRB1) or the SRB3 (if available) may be used to transmit the failure indication. For SCG RLF, the SRB1 may be used to transmit the failure indication.). Regarding claim 12, PALADUGU discloses the remote UE triggers relay re-selection based on reception of the notification message (See e.g. [0073]- The remote UE 902 may report the measurements of the suitable target relay UEs, identities of the target relay UEs, and/or identities of target relay UE serving cells. The remote UE 902 may report the selected target relay UE and the target MN to initiate a handover procedure to the cell associated with the target MN.). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kuo (US 11838964 B2) discloses Method And Apparatus For RRC Connection Establishment To Support UE-to-network Relaying In A Wireless Communication System Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KAMRAN AFSHAR whose telephone number is 571-272-7796. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday: 9:00AM-4:00PM ET. 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. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /KAMRAN AFSHAR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2125
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 28, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 18, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §112 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
67%
Grant Probability
82%
With Interview (+14.5%)
3y 2m (~1y 2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 291 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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