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 .
Title of the Invention
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.
Proposal: “Idle-Mode Uplink Data Transmission Using Primary and Fallback Configured Resources”
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.
Claim(s) 1, 5-6, 9, 13-14 and 17-20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chatterjee et al. (US 2021/0345395, “Chatterjee”) in view of Sengupta et al. (US 2021/0274568, “Sengupta”).
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to Chatterjee unless otherwise mentioned.
Chatterjee comprises the following features:
With respect to independent claims:
Regarding claim 1, a data transmission method, comprising:
receiving, by a terminal device, a first resource configuration from a network device ([0048 and Fig. 2] “The low mobility UE 210 can receiver a CG PUSCH configuration from the eNodeB 220. The CG PUSCH configuration can indicate the CG PUSCH resources for the low mobility UE 210 to use after the low mobility UE 210 transitions from the RRC connected state to the RRC idle state.”),
wherein the first resource configuration is used to indicate a first resource and a second resource (This will be discussed in view of Sengupta.), the first resource configuration includes a parameter indicating at least one of a time domain position ([0040] “with respect to a resource configuration, some or all of the following parameters/information can be configured via UE-specific RRC signaling: time domain resources, frequency domain resources, MCS/TBS, etc. The time domain resources can include a number of repetitions where the repetitions can occur on consecutive bandwidth reduced low complexity or coverage enhancement (BL/CE) UL subframes or NB-IoT UL subframes, resource Unit (RU) sizes, and a periodicity, which can be configured using a HFN, SFN, subframe, and/or slot index.”) or a frequency domain position of the first resource (This alternative is not examined.), and the first resource configuration further includes at least one of a repetition number of the first resource (See aforesaid [0040] for “a number of repetitions”), a first cell radio network temporary identity of the terminal device, a radio resource control (RRC) configuration that is used for data bearer establishment and/or access stratum security processing, or a periodic configuration of the first resource (These alternatives are not examined.);
sending, by the terminal device, when the terminal device is in an idle mode and has to-be-sent first uplink data, the first uplink data to the network device on the first resource ([0029] “a base station can configure a UE while in an RRC connected state with resources for CG PUSCH transmissions after the UE transitions to an RRC idle state, without necessarily initiating a random access procedure in order to transmit data packets in the UL.”); and if the sending of the first uplink data on the first resource fails, sending, by the terminal device, the first uplink data on the second resource (This will be discussed in view of Sengupta.).
It is noted that while disclosing allocating resources, Chatterjee does not specifically teach about configuring a second resource. It, however, had been known in the art before the effective date of the instant application as shown by Sengupta as follows;
the first resource configuration is used to indicate a first resource and a second resource ([Sengupta, 0114] “If there is a failed reception, the base station 504 may configure an additional set of DM-RS or data resources over which the UEs may try to retransmit.”, [Sengupta, 0115] “the base station 504 may allocate a first set of resources for a first transmission, and may allocate a second set, and maybe more sets of resources”, and [Sengupta, 0009] “the base station may pre-configure a first set of UL resources for a first transmission and a second set of UL resources for a potential retransmission if the first transmission fails.”);
if the sending of the first uplink data on the first resource fails, sending, by the terminal device, the first uplink data on the second resource ([Sengupta, 0115] “The UE1 502 and/or the UE2 506 may retransmit using the second set of resources (or subsequent sets) with increasing larger resource allocation until the transmission is received by the base station 504.”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to apply Sengupta’s first set / second set retransmission arrangement to Chatterjee’s idle mode configured grant PUSCH transmission. The predictable result would be an idle mode UE that initially transmits pending uplink data on a configured first resource and when that transmission fails, retransmits the same uplink data on a separately configured second resource. This modification would improve the reliability and coverage of Chatterjee’s preconfigured idle mode uplink transmission while retaining its reduction of random access signaling and associated latency.
Regarding claim 5, it is a method claim at a network device corresponding to the method claim 1 in a reciprocal way, and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 9, it is a terminal claim corresponding to the method claim 1, except the limitations, “a processor; and a computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the processor” ([0072 and Fig. 8] “some or all of the functionality of baseband processors 804a-d may be included in modules stored in the memory 804g and executed via a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 804e.”), and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 13, it is a network device claim corresponding to the method claim 5, except the limitations, “a processor; and a computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the processor” ([0072 and Fig. 8] “some or all of the functionality of baseband processors 804a-d may be included in modules stored in the memory 804g and executed via a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 804e.”), and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 5.
With respect to dependent claims:
Regarding claims 6 and 14, the network device according to claim 13, wherein the network device further performs: receiving a random-access preamble from the terminal device, to perform uplink data transmission or uplink data transmission in an early data transmission manner ([Sengupta, 0111] “at 524, the UE1 502 may transmit the DM-RS and the data on the pre-configured UL resources in a first random access procedure message to the base station”).
Regarding claims 17, 18, 19 and 20, the data transmission method according to claim 1, the data transmission method according to claim 5, the terminal device according to claim 9 and the network device according to claim 13, respectively, wherein the first resource configuration is received through dedicated signaling sent by the network device ([0031] “for a resource configuration of an UL transmission in idle mode assuming valid UL TA, resources configured for connected mode (e.g., configured by dedicated RRC signaling) can be reused in idle mode.”).
Claim(s) 2 and 10 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chatterjee et al. (US 2021/0345395, “Chatterjee”) in view of Sengupta et al. (US 2021/0274568, “Sengupta”) and further in view of Jeon et al. (US 2022/0070929, “Jeon”).
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to Chatterjee unless otherwise mentioned.
Regarding claims 2 and 10, it is noted that while disclosing allocating resources, Chatterjee does not specifically teach about another failure on the second resource. It, however, had been known in the art before the effective date of the instant application as shown by Jeon as follows;
the data transmission method according to claim 1 and the terminal device according to claim 9, respectively, wherein the method further comprises:
sending, by the terminal device, if the terminal device fails to send the first uplink data on the second resource, a random-access preamble to the network device to perform uplink data transmission or uplink data transmission in an early data transmission manner ([Jeon, 0464] “f the second LBT procedure on the second random access resource occasion (e.g., PRACH occasion) has failed. The wireless device may perform a wideband LBT, for example, if one or more FDM-ed random access resource occasions (e.g., PRACH occasions) are configured within a guard time less than a threshold. The wireless device may perform LBT procedures on the one or more FDM-ed random access resource occasions (e.g., PRACH occasions). A wireless device may send (e.g., transmit) a plurality of preambles via a plurality of random access resource occasions (e.g., PRACH occasions).”).
It would have been obvious to a PHOSITA to modify disclosures of Chatterjee in view of Sengupta to apply Jeon’s successive-failure escalation mechanism. In particular, after Sengupta’s terminal fails to transmit first uplink data on the second configured resource, the terminal would initiate a random access procedure by sending a random access preamble on an available PRACH resource as taught by Jeon, to obtain further uplink resources and continue uplink transmission. The modification predictably provides a recovery procedure after the configured retransmission resource is unsuccessful, rather than indefinitely repeating unsuccessful configured-resource transmissions.
Claim(s) 3, 7, 11 and 15 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chatterjee et al. (US 2021/0345395, “Chatterjee”) in view of Sengupta et al. (US 2021/0274568, “Sengupta”) and further in view of Tseng et al. (US 2018/0220486, “Tseng”).
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to Chatterjee unless otherwise mentioned.
Regarding claims 3, 7, 11 and 15, it is noted that while disclosing allocating resources, Chatterjee does not specifically teach about coverage levels. It, however, had been known in the art before the effective date of the instant application as shown by Tseng as follows;
the data transmission method according to claim 1, the data transmission method according to claim 5, the terminal device according to claim 9 and the network device according to claim 13, respectively, wherein the first resource corresponds to a first coverage level and the terminal device matches the first coverage level, and the second resource corresponds to a second coverage level ([Tseng, 0023] “a NR NB-IoT cell may configure multiple CE levels, each CE level having an individual radio resource configuration.”, [Tseng, 0029] “A UE in the NR NB-IoT cell may take the UE's downlink (DL) measurements of the NR NB-IoT cell to obtain received signal strength (e.g., Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), or SINR (Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio)) to decide the CE level based on the DL measurement result. The UE may then select the radio resource and random access preamble transmission power based on the estimated CE level for the random access process.”, and [Sengupta, 0074] “the base station 504 may allocate the UL resources as a function of the desired range of the cell coverage, known as the coverage extension (CE) level. For example, to extend coverage to a UE located at the fringe of the coverage area, the base station 504 may allocate a number of repetitions of a set of resources, such as repeating a set of resource allocations across a number of subframes. In one aspect, among the total resources configured by the base station 504 for the first random access procedure message comprising data, some resources may be configured with a relatively smaller number of repetitions to be used by, for example, UEs with good coverage, while other resources may be configured with a relatively larger number of repetitions to be used by, for example, UEs with poor coverage.”).
It would have been obvious to a PHOSITA to configure Sengupta’s first resource and second retransmission resource for respective coverage extension levels selected based on the UE’s measured/estimated coverage level, as taught by Tseng. This combination would predictably allow the UE to use an initial resource suitable for its estimated coverage condition and, after unsuccessful reception, use a further resource having increase repetitions and a corresponding higher coverage extension level. That arrangement improves reliability and coverage of Sengupta’s preconfigured uplink-data transmissions.
Claim(s) 4, 8, 12 and 16 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chatterjee et al. (US 2021/0345395, “Chatterjee”) in view of Sengupta et al. (US 2021/0274568, “Sengupta”) and further in view of Cho et al. (US 2018/0249479, “Cho”).
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to Chatterjee unless otherwise mentioned.
Regarding claims 4 and 12, it is noted that while disclosing allocating resources, Chatterjee in view of Sengupta does not specifically teach about resource sizes. It, however, had been known in the art before the effective date of the instant application as shown by Cho as follows;
the data transmission method according to claim 1 and the terminal device according to claim 9, respectively, wherein the terminal device stores a valid timing advance (TA) received from the network device ([Sengupta, 0044] “the UE 104 may use a last, valid timing advance from a previous random access procedure to transmit the first random access procedure message comprising the data using the pre-configured UL resources.”), and a size of the first uplink data does not exceed a size of the first resource ([Cho, 0236] “The base station can determine a resource allocation time point and a resource allocation size, according to information of a QoSIE field corresponding to data to be transmitted by the terminal, that is, according to the QCI, the maximum latency time, or transmission urgency according to the data size, and transmits the UL resource IE indicating the corresponding resource allocation information to the terminal”, and [Cho, 0231] “the maximum allowable latency time (Required packet latency) as shown in Table 2 below, or a data size indicating a size of a transmission message (or an RRC Direct UL data transfer message) in which the data is included.”).
It would have been obvious to a PHOSITA to determine the size of Sengupta’s first preconfigured uplink resource according to the amount of first uplink data intended for transmission as taught by Cho. The predictable result is that the configured first resource has capacity sufficient for the first uplink data – i.e., the size of the first uplink data does not exceed the size for the first resource – thereby avoiding transmission of data exceeding the allocated uplink-resource capacity.
Regarding claims 8 and 16, the data transmission method according to claim 5 and the network device according to claim 13, respectively,
wherein a size of the first uplink data does not exceed a size of the first resource; and before the sending, by the network device, the first resource configuration to the terminal device, the method further comprises sending, by the network device, a valid timing advance (TA) to the terminal device ([Cho, 0223] “the terminal transmits a random access preamble to the base station”, [Cho, 0226] “The random access response information includes TA (Timing Alignment)”, and [Cho, 0236] “The base station can determine a resource allocation time point and a resource allocation size, according to information of a QoSIE field corresponding to data to be transmitted by the terminal, that is, according to the QCI, the maximum latency time, or transmission urgency according to the data size, and transmits the UL resource IE indicating the corresponding resource allocation information to the terminal by including it in a response message (or an RRC Direct data Transfer response message) (S15040).”).
The rational and motivation for adding this teaching of Cho are the same as for claim 4.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Harry H. Kim whose telephone number and email address are as follows; 571-272-5009, harry.kim2@uspto.gov.
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.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Derrick Ferris can be reached at 571-272-3123.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from www.uspto.gov. For questions or assistance, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (in USA or Canada) or 571-272-1000.
/HARRY H KIM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
Prosecution Insights