DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present U.S. non-provisional application is being examined under the first-inventor-to-file provisions of the AIA . The present U.S. non-provisional application, filed on November 25, 2024, is the U.S. national stage of an international PCT application, filed on June 13, 2023, and claims priority to a foreign application, filed on July 25, 2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on November 25, 2024 was filed before the mailing date of a first Office action in the present U.S. non-provisional application, in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jia et al. (US 2025/0024547 A1) in view of Shrivastava et al. (US 2025/0386397 A1).
1. A method for wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) (Jia, FIG. 11), the method comprising:
subscribing to a multicast service (Jia, paras. [0148], [0149], “…In this case, if UE expects to receive the multicast service, the UE may send a request to join the multicast group, that is, join a multicast session or the multicast service. The multicast group may be an application-layer concept (that is, a subscription group). In this case, only UE belonging to the multicast group can receive the multicast service. The UE belonging to the multicast group may also be referred to as UE in the multicast group, or may be referred to as a group member.”) while operating in a radio resource control (RRC) connected state (Shrivastava, paras. [0031], [0085], “Further, a potential issue relates to the UEs that has joined the multicast session(s) and the multicast session(s) is not activated (i.e., UEs for which the multicast session(s) is deactivated or is not yet activated) and the UEs may be transitioned to the RRC_INACTIVE state, the RRC_IDLE state, or a combination thereof…” It is noted that a person having ordinary skill in the art would understand that transition to RRC_INACTIVE state or RRC_IDLE state suggests operation in RRC_CONNECTED state.);
transitioning from the RRC connected state to an RRC inactive state (Shrivastava, paras. [0031], [0085], “Further, a potential issue relates to the UEs that has joined the multicast session(s) and the multicast session(s) is not activated (i.e., UEs for which the multicast session(s) is deactivated or is not yet activated) and the UEs may be transitioned to the RRC_INACTIVE state, the RRC_IDLE state, or a combination thereof…” Id. It is noted that a person having ordinary skill in the art would understand that transition to the RRC_INACTIVE state or the RRC_IDLE state suggests transition from the RRC_CONNECTED state.);
receiving, while operating in the RRC inactive state, a paging message associated with the multicast service, the paging message including an indication of whether the UE is to remain in the RRC inactive state or is to transition from the RRC inactive state to the RRC connected state (Shrivastava, paras. [0068], [0069], “Further, the groupPagingCause-r18 indicates the group paging cause for the session indicated by groupPagingId-r18, which can be session activation, deactivation, session modification or session release. Furthermore, rrcState-r18 indicates the state for which the UE 100 is required to transition to connected or remain in INACTIVE state to receive multicast session. The congestionStatus-r18 indicates the congestion status at network and may also implicitly indicate if the UE 100 can transition to RRC_CONNECTED state or remain in INACTIVE state. The details on performing the group paging when the UE 100 transitions to the RRC_CONNECTED state have been elaborated in subsequent paragraphs at least with reference to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B…” emphasis added.); and
receiving a multicast transmission associated with the multicast service while operating in one of the RRC inactive state or the RRC connected state, the one of the RRC inactive state or the RRC connected state being based on the indication (Shrivastava, paras. [0068], [0069], “Further, the groupPagingCause-r18 indicates the group paging cause for the session indicated by groupPagingId-r18, which can be session activation, deactivation, session modification or session release. Furthermore, rrcState-r18 indicates the state for which the UE 100 is required to transition to connected or remain in INACTIVE state to receive multicast session. The congestionStatus-r18 indicates the congestion status at network and may also implicitly indicate if the UE 100 can transition to RRC_CONNECTED state or remain in INACTIVE state. The details on performing the group paging when the UE 100 transitions to the RRC_CONNECTED state have been elaborated in subsequent paragraphs at least with reference to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B…” emphasis added. Id.)
Jia et al. may not seem to describe the identical claimed invention, however in the same field of endeavor, Shrivastava et al. provides prior art disclosure for the claimed invention, such as receiving a multicast transmission associated with the multicast service while operating in one of the RRC inactive state or the RRC connected state, the one of the RRC inactive state or the RRC connected state being based on the indication (Shrivastava, paras. [0068], [0069], Id.) The prior art disclosure and suggestions of Shrivastava et al. are for reasons of addressing the recognized disadvantages or at least providing a useful alternative for MBS multicast sessions (Shrivastava, paras. [0031], [0035], “…Thus, it is desired to address the above-mentioned disadvantages or shortcomings or at least provide a useful alternative for MBS multicast sessions in the UE.”) In view of the prior art of record, the claimed invention 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, for reasons of addressing the recognized disadvantages or at least providing a useful alternative for MBS multicast sessions.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication specifies that the UE is to remain in the RRC inactive state to receive the multicast transmission based on a priority level associated with the UE (Shrivastava, paras. [0106], [0108], “…In case of conflict of CN paging and group paging in same paging message, the conflict is addressed based on the priority or criticality of the service(s) (e.g., access category/access identities/paging cause). For example, when group paging is for critical service e.g., mission critical push-to-talk (MCPTT), the UE 100 may respond to group paging and may receive the multicast session in the RRC_INACTIVE state or resume the RRC connection, and receive multicast session in the RRC_CONNECTED state.”)
3. The method of claim 1, wherein a presence of the indication in the paging message indicates that the UE is to activate a multicast radio bearer (MRB) and to remain in the RRC inactive state to receive the multicast transmission (Shrivastava, paras. [0103], [0104], “…Alternatively, in another embodiment of the present disclosure, the AS layer may store or retain the configuration and release the MRBs associated with the MBS session. When the UE 100 receives a group paging message indicating the ‘activation’ of the MBS multicast session and explicitly or implicitly indicate that the UE 100 can continue in INACTIVE state to receive the multicast data without change in the stored or retained MRB configurations, the AS layer can establish the MRBs from the stored configurations. In an embodiment present disclosure, the MRB configuration may be provided in the RRC_INACTIVE state, to continue the reception of the activated multicast session in the RRC_INACTIVE.”)
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving an indicator of a priority level associated with the multicast service, wherein the indication specifies that the UE is to transition, based on the priority level, to the RRC connected state to receive the multicast transmission (Shrivastava, paras. [0077], [0078], “…In such case, the one or more processors 102 may prioritize the unicast paging and execute the unicast paging via the UE 100. The one or more processors 102 may also be configured to forward the TMGI for the multicast session indicated in the group paging/the group notification to the upper layers. The one or more processors 102 are configured to transit the UE 100 to the RRC_IDLE state and initiate connection establishment procedure. Further, the one or more processors 102 may be configured to switch the RRC state of the UE 100 to an RRC_CONNECTED state upon executing the unicast paging.”)
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the paging message is a unicast paging message, wherein the indication includes a UE-specific radio access network (RAN) paging identifier (ID) associated with the UE, and wherein a presence of the indication in the paging message indicates that the UE is to transition to the RRC connected state to receive the multicast transmission (Shrivastava, paras. [0077], [0078], “Further, the one or more processors 102 may be configured to determine if both unicast paging and group paging/group notification is received by the UE 100 in the RRC_INACTIVE state in the same paging message, wherein the unicast paging corresponds to a Radio Access Network (RAN) paging. […] In such case, the one or more processors 102 may prioritize the unicast paging and execute the unicast paging via the UE 100. The one or more processors 102 may also be configured to forward the TMGI for the multicast session indicated in the group paging/the group notification to the upper layers. The one or more processors 102 are configured to transit the UE 100 to the RRC_IDLE state and initiate connection establishment procedure. Further, the one or more processors 102 may be configured to switch the RRC state of the UE 100 to an RRC_CONNECTED state upon executing the unicast paging.” Id.)
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication is associated with a temporary mobile group identity (TMGI), and wherein a presence of the indication in the paging message indicates that UEs associated with the TMGI are to remain in the RRC inactive state to receive the multicast transmission (Shrivastava, paras. [0106], [0110], “…Further, when the UE 100 is in the RRC_INACTIVE state and receives the RAN paging and multicast session group notification (i.e., group paging) in the same paging message, the UE 100 forwards the at least one of the TMGI which UE 100 has joined and indicated in the pagingGroupList in the paging message. Further, the UE 100 stays in the RRC_INACTIVE state and start receiving multicast session, if activation for multicast session is implicitly or explicitly indicated. That is, the UE 100 does not send a RRCResumeRequest or RRCResumeRequest1 message.”)
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a group identifier associated with the UE, and wherein the paging message includes group information associated with the indication (Shrivastava, paras. [0077], [0078], Id.)
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the paging message includes one or more of a first temporary mobile group identity (TMGI) associated with a first priority level or a second TMGI associated with a second priority level that is higher than the first priority level (Shrivastava, paras. [0077], [0078], Id.)
9. A user equipment (UE) comprising: at least one processor; and a memory coupled with the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code that, when executed by the at least one processor, is configured (Jia, FIG. 11, Id.) to:
subscribe to a multicast service (Jia, paras. [0148], [0149], Id.) while operating in a radio resource control (RRC) connected state (Shrivastava, paras. [0031], [0085], Id.);
transition from the RRC connected state to an RRC inactive state (Shrivastava, paras. [0031], [0085], Id.);
receive, while operating in the RRC inactive state, a paging message associated with the multicast service, the paging message including an indication of whether the UE is to remain in the RRC inactive state or is to transition from the RRC inactive state to the RRC connected state (Shrivastava, paras. [0068], [0069], Id.); and
receive a multicast transmission associated with the multicast service while operating in one of the RRC inactive state or the RRC connected state, the one of the RRC inactive state or the RRC connected state being based on the indication (Shrivastava, paras. [0068], [0069], Id. cf. Claim 1).
Jia et al. may not seem to describe the identical claimed invention, however in the same field of endeavor, Shrivastava et al. provides prior art disclosure for the claimed invention, such as receive a multicast transmission associated with the multicast service while operating in one of the RRC inactive state or the RRC connected state, the one of the RRC inactive state or the RRC connected state being based on the indication (Shrivastava, paras. [0068], [0069], Id.) The prior art disclosure and suggestions of Shrivastava et al. are for reasons of addressing the recognized disadvantages or at least providing a useful alternative for MBS multicast sessions (Shrivastava, paras. [0031], [0035], Id.) In view of the prior art of record, the claimed invention 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, for reasons of addressing the recognized disadvantages or at least providing a useful alternative for MBS multicast sessions.
10. The UE of claim 9, wherein the indication specifies that the UE is to remain in the RRC inactive state to receive the multicast transmission based on a priority level associated with the UE (Shrivastava, paras. [0106], [0108], Id. cf. Claim 2).
11. The UE of claim 9, wherein a presence of the indication in the paging message indicates that the UE is to activate a multicast radio bearer (MRB) and to remain in the RRC inactive state to receive the multicast transmission (Shrivastava, paras. [0103], [0104], Id. cf. Claim 3).
12. The UE of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive an indicator of a priority level associated with the multicast service, and wherein the indication specifies that the UE is to transition, based on the priority level, to the RRC connected state to receive the multicast transmission (Shrivastava, paras. [0077], [0078], Id. cf. Claim 4).
13. The UE of claim 9, wherein the paging message is a unicast paging message, wherein the indication includes a UE-specific radio access network (RAN) paging identifier (ID) associated with the UE, and wherein a presence of the indication in the paging message indicates that the UE is to transition to the RRC connected state to receive the multicast transmission (Shrivastava, paras. [0077], [0078], Id. cf. Claim 5).
14. The UE of claim 9, wherein the indication is associated with a temporary mobile group identity (TMGI), and wherein a presence of the indication in the paging message indicates that UEs associated with the TMGI are to remain in the RRC inactive state to receive the multicast transmission (Shrivastava, paras. [0106], [0110], Id. cf. Claim 6).
15. The UE of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a group identifier associated with the UE, and wherein the paging message includes group information associated with the indication (Shrivastava, paras. [0077], [0078], Id. cf. Claim 7).
16. The UE of claim 9, wherein the paging message includes one or more of a first temporary mobile group identity (TMGI) associated with a first priority level or a second TMGI associated with a second priority level that is higher than the first priority level (Shrivastava, paras. [0077], [0078], Id. cf. Claim 8).
17. A method for wireless communication performed by a base station (Jia, FIG. 11, Id.), the method comprising:
receiving a subscription message associated with a multicast service (Jia, paras. [0148], [0149], Id.) while a user equipment (UE) operates in a radio resource control (RRC) connected state (Shrivastava, paras. [0031], [0085], Id.);
transmitting, while the UE operates in an RRC inactive state, a paging message associated with the multicast service, the paging message including an indication of whether the UE is to remain in the RRC inactive state or is to transition from the RRC inactive state to the RRC connected state (Shrivastava, paras. [0068], [0069], Id.); and
transmitting a multicast transmission associated with the multicast service while the UE operates in one of the RRC inactive state or the RRC connected state, the one of the RRC inactive state or the RRC connected state being based on the indication (Shrivastava, paras. [0068], [0069], Id. cf. Claim 1).
Jia et al. may not seem to describe the identical claimed invention, however in the same field of endeavor, Shrivastava et al. provides prior art disclosure for the claimed invention, such as transmitting a multicast transmission associated with the multicast service while the UE operates in one of the RRC inactive state or the RRC connected state, the one of the RRC inactive state or the RRC connected state being based on the indication (Shrivastava, paras. [0068], [0069], Id.) The prior art disclosure and suggestions of Shrivastava et al. are for reasons of addressing the recognized disadvantages or at least providing a useful alternative for MBS multicast sessions (Shrivastava, paras. [0031], [0035], Id.) In view of the prior art of record, the claimed invention 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, for reasons of addressing the recognized disadvantages or at least providing a useful alternative for MBS multicast sessions.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the indication specifies that the UE is to remain in the RRC inactive state to receive the multicast transmission based on a priority level associated with the UE (Shrivastava, paras. [0106], [0108], Id. cf. Claim 2).
19. The method of claim 17, wherein a presence of the indication in the paging message indicates that the UE is to activate a multicast radio bearer (MRB) and to remain in the RRC inactive state to receive the multicast transmission (Shrivastava, paras. [0103], [0104], Id. cf. Claim 3).
20. The method of claim 17, further comprising transmitting an indicator of a priority level associated with the multicast service, wherein the indication specifies that the UE is to transition, based on the priority level, to the RRC connected state to receive the multicast transmission (Shrivastava, paras. [0077], [0078], Id. cf. Claim 4).
21. The method of claim 17, wherein the paging message is a unicast paging message, wherein the indication includes a UE-specific radio access network (RAN) paging identifier (ID) associated with the UE, and wherein a presence of the indication in the paging message indicates that the UE is to transition to the RRC connected state to receive the multicast transmission (Shrivastava, paras. [0077], [0078], Id. cf. Claim 5).
22. The method of claim 17, further comprising transmitting a group identifier associated with the UE, and wherein the paging message includes group information associated with the indication (Shrivastava, paras. [0077], [0078], Id. cf. Claim 7).
23. The method of claim 17, wherein the paging message includes one or more of a first temporary mobile group identity (TMGI) associated with a first priority level or a second TMGI associated with a second priority level that is higher than the first priority level (Shrivastava, paras. [0077], [0078], Id. cf. Claim 8).
24. A base station comprising: at least one processor; and a memory coupled with the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code that, when executed by the at least one processor, is (Jia, FIG. 11, Id.) configured to:
receive a subscription message associated with a multicast service (Jia, paras. [0148], [0149], Id.) while a UE operates in a radio resource control (RRC) connected state (Shrivastava, paras. [0031], [0085], Id.);
transmit, while the UE operates in an RRC inactive state, a paging message associated with the multicast service, the paging message including an indication of whether the UE is to remain in the RRC inactive state or is to transition from the RRC inactive state to the RRC connected state (Shrivastava, paras. [0068], [0069], Id.); and
transmit a multicast transmission associated with the multicast service while the UE operates in one of the RRC inactive state or the RRC connected state, the one of the RRC inactive state or the RRC connected state being based on the indication (Shrivastava, paras. [0068], [0069], Id. cf. Claim 1).
Jia et al. may not seem to describe the identical claimed invention, however in the same field of endeavor, Shrivastava et al. provides prior art disclosure for the claimed invention, such as transmit a multicast transmission associated with the multicast service while the UE operates in one of the RRC inactive state or the RRC connected state, the one of the RRC inactive state or the RRC connected state being based on the indication (Shrivastava, paras. [0068], [0069], Id.) The prior art disclosure and suggestions of Shrivastava et al. are for reasons of addressing the recognized disadvantages or at least providing a useful alternative for MBS multicast sessions (Shrivastava, paras. [0031], [0035], Id.) In view of the prior art of record, the claimed invention 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, for reasons of addressing the recognized disadvantages or at least providing a useful alternative for MBS multicast sessions.
25. The base station of claim 24, wherein the indication specifies that the UE is to remain in the RRC inactive state to receive the multicast transmission based on a priority level associated with the UE (Shrivastava, paras. [0106], [0108], Id. cf. Claim 2).
26. The base station of claim 24, wherein a presence of the indication in the paging message indicates that the UE is to activate a multicast radio bearer (MRB) and to remain in the RRC inactive state to receive the multicast transmission (Shrivastava, paras. [0103], [0104], Id. cf. Claim 3).
27. The base station of claim 24, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit an indicator of a priority level associated with the multicast service, and wherein the indication specifies that the UE is to transition, based on the priority level, to the RRC connected state to receive the multicast transmission (Shrivastava, paras. [0077], [0078], Id. cf. Claim 4).
28. The base station of claim 24, wherein the indication is associated with a temporary mobile group identity (TMGI), and wherein a presence of the indication in the paging message indicates that UEs associated with the TMGI are to remain in the RRC inactive state to receive the multicast transmission (Shrivastava, paras. [0106], [0110], Id. cf. Claim 6).
29. The base station of claim 24, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit a group identifier associated with the UE, and wherein the paging message includes group information associated with the indication (Shrivastava, paras. [0077], [0078], Id. cf. Claim 7).
30. The base station of claim 24, wherein the paging message includes one or more of a first temporary mobile group identity (TMGI) associated with a first priority level or a second TMGI associated with a second priority level that is higher than the first priority level (Shrivastava, paras. [0077], [0078], Id. cf. Claim 8).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record (PTO-1449, PTO-892) and not relied upon is considered pertinent to the subject matter of the present U.S. non-provisional application.
Fujishiro et al. (US 2024/0179797 A1) provides prior art disclosure considered as relevant to the subject matter of the claimed invention (Fujishiro, Abstract, “…The communication method includes receiving a paging message including a TMGI from a base station when the user equipment is in an RRC inactive state, and starting a procedure of transitioning from the RRC inactive state to an RRC connected state when the user equipment is participating in an MBS session indicated by the TMGI.”)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Timothy J. Weidner whose telephone number is (571) 270-1825. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing by using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, the applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) form provided at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ayaz R. Sheikh can be reached on (571) 272-3795. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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. In order 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 more 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.
/TIMOTHY J WEIDNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476
