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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-18 are pending in Instant Application.
Priority
Examiner acknowledges Applicant’s claim to priority benefits of: This application is a CON of 17/150,378 filled 01/15/2021 now PAT 12185375, 17/150,378 has PRO 62/962,266 filed 01/17/2020.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the claims at issue are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); and In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO internet Web site contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit http://www.uspto.gov/forms/. The filing date of the application will determine what form should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claims 1-8 and 10-17 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-16 of parent U.S. Patent No. US 12, 185, 375 (hereinafter refers as A).
Note that the applicant filing of the continuing application is voluntary and not the direct, unmodified result of restriction requirement under 35 U.S.C. 121 (i.e. without a restriction requirement by the examiner) and the claims of the second application are drawn to the “same invention ” as the first application or patent. Moreover, although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-8 and 10-17 of the instant application merely broadens the scope of the claims 1-16 of the A Patent by eliminating the elements and their functions of the claims, and claims 1-8 and 10-17 of this instant application is therefore an obvious variant thereof.
Instant Application 18942674
Patent 12,185, 375
1. A method for a User Equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a configuration of a first Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) threshold, a configuration of a second RSRP threshold, and a small data transmission configuration of a third RSRP threshold; using the third RSRP threshold to determine whether to initiate a small data transmission, which is a Random Access Channel (RACH)-based small data transmission or a pre-configured Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource-based small data transmission, wherein the UE determines to initiate the small data transmission if at least a radio condition of the UE is above the third RSRP threshold; using the first RSRP threshold to determine a carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission after determining to initiate the small data transmission using the third RSRP threshold; and using the second RSRP threshold to determine a Random Access (RA) type for the RACH-based small data transmission after determining the carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission using the first RSRP threshold.
1. A method for a User Equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a configuration of a first Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) threshold, a configuration of a second RSRP threshold, and a configuration of a third RSRP threshold, wherein the configuration of the third RSRP threshold is a configuration of small data transmission; initiating a Radio Resource Control (RRC) resume procedure in RRC INACTIVE for the small data transmission; using multiple RSRP thresholds including the first RSRP threshold, the second RSRP threshold, and the third RSRP threshold, for the small data transmission, wherein: the first RSRP threshold is used to determine carrier for a Random Access Channel (RACH)-based small data transmission, the second RSRP threshold is used to determine Random Access (RA) type for the RACH-based small data transmission, and the third RSRP threshold is used to determine whether to initiate small data transmission, which is either RACH-based or pre-configured Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource-based; determining whether to initiate the small data transmission based on the third RSRP threshold, wherein the UE determines to initiate the small data transmission if at least a radio condition of the UE is above the third RSRP threshold; determining a carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission based on the first RSRP threshold after determining to initiate the small data transmission based on the third RSRP threshold; and determining an RA type for the RACH-based small data transmission based on the second RSRP threshold after determining the carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission based on the first RSRP threshold.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE determines to not initiate the small data transmission if the radio condition of the UE is below the third RSRP threshold.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE determines to not initiate the small data transmission if a radio condition of the UE is below the third RSRP threshold.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the small data transmission configuration of the third RSRP threshold is received in a system information.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration of the third RSRP threshold is received in system information.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration of the first RSRP threshold is received in a RACH-ConfigCommon.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration of the first RSRP threshold is received in RACH-ConfigCommon.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration of the second RSRP threshold is received in a RACH configuration.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration of the second RSRP threshold is received in a RACH configuration.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the small data transmission is triggered by an upper layer.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the small data transmission is triggered by an upper layer.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the small data transmission is used for transmitting uplink data in Radio Resource Control (RRC)_INACTIVE state.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the small data transmission is used for transmitting uplink data in RRC_INACTIVE state.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE triggers an RA procedure for the RACH-based small data transmission.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE triggers an RA procedure for the small data transmission.
10. A User Equipment (UE), comprising: a processor; and a memory operatively coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute a program code to: receive a configuration of a first Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) threshold, a configuration of a second RSRP threshold, and a small data transmission configuration of a third RSRP threshold; use the third RSRP threshold to determine whether to initiate a small data transmission, which is a Random Access Channel (RACH)-based small data transmission or a pre-configured Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource-based small data transmission, wherein the UE determines to initiate the small data transmission if at least a radio condition of the UE is above the third RSRP threshold; use the first RSRP threshold to determine a carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission after determining to initiate the small data transmission using the third RSRP threshold; and use the second RSRP threshold to determine a Random Access (RA) type for the RACH-based small data transmission after determining the carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission using the first RSRP threshold.
9. A User Equipment (UE), comprising: a processor; and a memory operatively coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute a program code to: receive a configuration of a first Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) threshold, a configuration of a second RSRP threshold, and a configuration of a third RSRP threshold, wherein the configuration of the third RSRP threshold is a configuration of small data transmission; initiate a Radio Resource Control (RRC) resume procedure in RRC INACTIVE for a small data transmission; use multiple RSRP thresholds including the first RSRP threshold, the second RSRP threshold, and the third RSRP threshold, for the small data transmission, wherein: the first RSRP threshold is used to determine carrier for a Random Access Channel (RACH)-based small data transmission, the second RSRP threshold is used to determine Random Access (RA) type for the RACH-based small data transmission, and the third RSRP threshold is used to determine whether to initiate small data transmission, which is either RACH-based or pre-configured Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource-based; determine whether to initiate the small data transmission based on the third RSRP threshold, wherein the UE determines to initiate the small data transmission if at least a radio condition of the UE is above the third RSRP threshold; determine a carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission based on the first RSRP threshold after determining to initiate the small data transmission based on the third RSRP threshold; and determine an RA type for the RACH-based small data transmission based on the second RSRP threshold after determining the carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission based on the first RSRP threshold.
11. The UE of claim 10, wherein the UE determines to not initiate the small data transmission if the radio condition of the UE is below the third RSRP threshold.
10. The UE of claim 9, wherein the UE determines to not initiate the small data transmission if a radio condition of the UE is below the third RSRP threshold.
12. The UE of claim 10, wherein the configuration of the third RSRP threshold is received in a system information.
11. The UE of claim 9, wherein the configuration of the third RSRP threshold is received in system information.
13. The UE of claim 10, wherein the small data transmission configuration of the first RSRP threshold is received in a RACH-ConfigCommon.
12. The UE of claim 9, wherein the configuration of the first RSRP threshold is received in RACH-ConfigCommon.
14. The UE of claim 10, wherein the configuration of the second RSRP threshold is received in a RACH configuration.
13. The UE of claim 9, wherein the configuration of the second RSRP threshold is received in a RACH configuration.
15. The UE of claim 10, wherein the small data transmission is triggered by an upper layer.
14. The UE of claim 9, wherein the small data transmission is triggered by an upper layer.
16. The UE of claim 10, wherein the small data transmission is used for transmitting uplink data in Radio Resource Control (RRC)_INACTIVE state.
15. The UE of claim 9, wherein the small data transmission is used for transmitting uplink data in RRC_INACTIVE state.
17. The UE of claim 10, wherein the UE triggers an RA procedure for the RACH-based small data transmission.
16. The UE of claim 9, wherein the UE triggers an RA procedure for the small data transmission.
Thus, in view of the above, it is clear that the conflicting claims are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-8 and 10-17 of the instant application merely broaden the scope of the claims 1-16 of patent 12, 185, 375.
Notice re prior art available under both pre-AIA and AIA
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 of this title, 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) 1-3, 5, 10-12, 14 and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun (US Pub. No.:2015/0282213), and further in view of Agiwal et al. (US Pub. No.:2020/0100297).
As per claim 1, Sun disclose A method for a User Equipment (UE)(see Fig.1, Fig.3, UE 141), comprising:
receiving a configuration of a first Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) threshold (see para. see para. 0009, 0031-0036, 0044-0047, a first RSRP configured by the base station, receiving a channel condition / RSRP is better than a first threshold), a configuration of a second RSRP threshold (see para. 0009, 0031-0036, 0044-0047, receiving a delay requirement for a configuration less than a second RSRP threshold), and a small data transmission configuration of a third RSRP threshold (see para. see para. 0009, 0031-0036, 0044-0047, receiving a size of data available for transmission is smaller than a third RSRP threshold, see also para. 0058,0077);
using the third RSRP threshold to determine whether to initiate a small data transmission, which is a Random Access Channel (RACH)-based small data transmission or a pre-configured Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource-based small data transmission, wherein the UE determines to initiate the small data transmission if at least a radio condition of the UE is above the third RSRP threshold (see Fig.5, para. 0065-0069, initiate a small data transmission, if the channel condition is better than a threshold / third RSRP threshold);
using the first RSRP threshold to determine a carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission after determining to initiate the small data transmission using the third RSRP threshold (see para. 0044-0047, 0053, when the size of the granted TB is smaller than the size of available data to transmit, the terminal re-attempt the random access procedure and when the size of the granted TB is larger than the size of available data to transmit, the terminal may assume the base station cannot support non-RRC Connection based data transmission and fall back to the random access procedure for RRC Connection (Re-)establishment / determine/selecting a carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission, see also para. 0058-0059).
Sun however does not explicitly disclose using the second RSRP threshold to determine a Random Access (RA) type for the RACH-based small data transmission after determining the carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission using the first RSRP threshold.
Agiwal however disclose using a first RSRP threshold to determine a carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission after determining to initiate the small data transmission using a third RSRP threshold (see Fig.3, para. 0070, Fig.4, para. 0081, 0088, 0100, this procedure is applied when both 2 step and 4 step RA are supported in a cell on which RA is initiated and UE supports both 2 step and 4 step RA procedure. In a system supporting BWPs: in RRC IDLE/INACTIVE state, UE performs RA procedure over initial DL BWP and initial UL BWP of camped cell. In case camped cell is configured with both NUL and SUL, UE selects an UL carrier based on DL RSRP of camped cell (e.g. if the RSRP of the DL pathloss reference (i.e. SSB) is less than a configured threshold, UE selects SUL; otherwise NUL), and initial UL BWP for RA procedure is the initial UL BWP of selected UL carrier, see also para. 0101, 0108-0109, 0114-0115, 0124-0137) and using a second RSRP threshold to determine a Random Access (RA) type for a RACH-based small data transmission after determining a carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission using a first RSRP threshold (see Fig.10, para. 0114-0118, Referring to FIG. 10, upon initiation of RA procedure at operation 1010, the UE checks if the DL RSRP of the cell on which RA is initiated (i.e. the cell on which the UE will transmit Msg1 for 4 step RA and MsgA for 2 step RA) is less than or equal to a threshold or not at operation 1020. In addition, the UE determines whether the TTI bundling for Msg3 transmission is supported at operation 1030. If yes, i.e. the DL RSRP of the serving cell on which RA is initiated (i.e. cell on which the UE will transmit Msg1 for 4 step RA and MsgA for 2 step RA) is less than or equal to the threshold and the TTI bundling for Msg3 transmission is supported, the UE performs the 4 step RA procedure at operation 1040 {a first threshold}. Otherwise (i.e. DL RSRP of serving cell on which RA is initiated is greater than a threshold) the UE performs the 2 step RA procedure at operation 1050 {a second threshold}. In an alternate embodiment, the UE can perform this selection between the 2 step and the 4 step based on the DL RSRP of the cell before each RA attempt of the RA procedure instead of at the beginning of the RA procedure. This is beneficial as channel conditions change during the RA procedure, see also para. 0017, 0022, 0071, 0089).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality of using a second RSRP threshold to determine a Random Access (RA) type for a RACH-based small data transmission after determining a carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission using a first RSRP threshold, as taught by Agiwal, in the system of Sun, so as to support variable size of MsgA payload efficiently, see Agiwal, paragraphs 0017-0018.
As per claim 2, the combination of Sun and Agiwal disclose the method of claim 1.
Sun further disclose wherein the UE determines to not initiate the small data transmission if the radio condition of the UE is below the third RSRP threshold (see para. 0044-0047, the terminal not initiating the procedure of small data transmission when the channel condition/ a radio condition of the UE is below the threshold, the terminal learn downlink channel conditions by receiving PSS/SSS downlink broadcasting channels (e.g., PBCH or PDCCH or PDSCH convey SIB) and/or other physical channels/signals or measurement e.g., Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP)), and based on the downlink channel conditions, the terminal matches the channel condition (path-loss/coverage condition) to a size level based on a pre-defined rule, in this case the measurement /radio condition of the UE is below the threshold and the UE not initiating the procedure of small data transmission base on the rule).
As per claim 3, the combination of Sun and Agiwal disclose the method of claim 1.
Sun further disclose wherein the small data transmission configuration of the third RSRP threshold is received in a system information (see Fig. 1A, FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C and 4D, para. 0004, 0031-0033, the small data transmission configuration of the third RSRP threshold is received / broadcast in a system information).
As per claim 5, the combination of Sun and Agiwal disclose the method of claim 1.
Agiwal further disclose wherein the configuration of the second RSRP threshold is received in a RACH configuration (see para. 0070-0071, wherein a configuration of a second RSRP threshold is received in a RACH configuration).
As per claim 8, the combination of Sun and Agiwal disclose the method of claim 1.
Agiwal further disclose wherein the UE triggers an RA procedure for the RACH-based small data transmission (see Fig.10, para. 0114-0118, Referring to FIG. 10, upon initiation of RA procedure at operation 1010, the UE checks if the DL RSRP of the cell on which RA is initiated (i.e. the cell on which the UE will transmit Msg1 for 4 step RA and MsgA for 2 step RA) is less than or equal to a threshold or not at operation 1020. In addition, the UE determines whether the TTI bundling for Msg3 transmission is supported at operation 1030. If yes, i.e. the DL RSRP of the serving cell on which RA is initiated (i.e. cell on which the UE will transmit Msg1 for 4 step RA and MsgA for 2 step RA) is less than or equal to the threshold and the TTI bundling for Msg3 transmission is supported, the UE performs the 4 step RA procedure at operation 1040 {a first threshold}).
As per claim 9, the combination of Sun and Agiwal disclose the method of claim 1.
Sun further disclose wherein the configuration is received from a network (see para. see para. 0009, 0031-0036, 0044-0047, the configuration is received from a base station / a network).
As per claim 10, claim 10 is rejected the same way as claim 1, Sun further disclose A User Equipment (UE) (see Fig.3, UE 141), comprising: a processor (see Fig.3, processor 151); and a memory (see Fig.3, Memory 152); wherein the processor is configured to execute a program code (see para. 0028-0030, the memory 152 stores program instructions and data to control the operation of the UE 141).
As per claim 11, claim 11 is rejected the same way as claim 2.
As per claim 12, claim 12 is rejected the same way as claim 3.
As per claim 17, claim 17 is rejected the same way as claim 9.
As per claim 18, claim 18 is rejected the same way as claim 10.
As per claim 17, claim 17 is rejected the same way as claim 8.
Claim(s) 4 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun (US Pub. No.:2015/0282213), in view of Agiwal et al. (US Pub. No.:2020/0100297) and further in view of Ryoo et al. (US Pub. No.:2020/0037345).
As per claim 4, the combination of Sun and Agiwal disclose the method of claim 1.
The combination of Sun and Agiwal however does not explicitly disclose wherein the configuration of the first RSRP threshold is received in a RACH-ConfigCommon.
Ryoo however disclose wherein a configuration of a first RSRP threshold is received in a RACH-ConfigCommon (see para. 0553, Table 00037, 0569. Table 00039, 0566-0571, an operation of performing the RACH through NR UL if each or a combination of RSRP, RSRQ, and RSSI of the UE is larger than or equal to the threshold, wherein a configuration of a first RSRP threshold is received in a RACH-ConfigCommon).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality wherein a configuration of a first RSRP threshold is received in a RACH-ConfigCommon, as taught by Ryoo, in the system of Sun and Agiwal, so as to provide a method of determining an RRC state (inactive and (or) active state) for transmitting data and to improve spectral efficiency and a channel access method to allow the UE to efficiently transmit traffic in the RRC inactive state and transmitting a RRC resume request message in the RRC resume procedure, regardless of the RRC resume procedure being initiated for SDT or not, see Ryoo, paragraphs 0008.
As per claim 13, claim 13 is rejected the same way as claim 4.
Claims 6 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun (US Pub. No.:2015/0282213), in view of Agiwal et al. (US Pub. No.:2020/0100297) and further in view of Lee et al. (US Pub. No.:2011/0300858).
As per claim 6, the combination of Sun and Agiwal disclose the method of claim 1.
The combination of Sun and Agiwal however does not explicitly disclose wherein the small data transmission is triggered by an upper layer.
Lee however disclose wherein a small data transmission is triggered by an upper layer (see para. 0033, the value of the threshold value and the count value of the timer may be directly configured by the mobile communications device 110 using an upper layer signaling or be configured by the cellular station 122, the controller module 114 may first receive a first message from the cellular station 122 via the wireless module 112 prior to the triggering of the BSR and then obtain the value of the threshold value and the count value of the timer from the first message. The controller module 114 may further transmit a second message to the cellular station, indicating to the cellular station 122 that transmission of small size data is being performed via the wireless module 112 prior to the reception of the first message from the cellular station 122).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality of wherein a small data transmission is triggered by an upper layer, as taught by Lee, in the system of Sun and Agiwal, so as to reduces signaling overhead and increase a system overall performance when only small size data is required to be transmitted, see Lee, page 6 lines 8-11.
As per claim 15, claim 15 is rejected the same way as claim 6.
Claims 7 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun (US Pub. No.:2015/0282213), in view of Agiwal et al. (US Pub. No.:2020/0100297) and further in view of Laselva et al. (WO2020/148483).
As per claim 7, the combination of Sun and Agiwal disclose the method of claim 1.
The combination of Sun and Agiwal however does not explicitly disclose wherein the small data transmission is used for transmitting uplink data in Radio Resource Control (RRC)_INACTIVE state.
Laselva however disclose wherein the small data transmission is used for transmitting uplink data in Radio Resource Control (RRC)_INACTIVE state (see page 6, lines 13-19, page 15, lines 16-20, at block 630, the user equipment transmits the data from the UE to the network node in response to determining that the UE allows CG mode operations in RRC_INACTIVE state, UE 304, in response to determining that the UE supports CG mode operations in RRC_INACTIVE state, transmit the data (e.g., data (or portions of the20 data) present in the buffer) to gNB 302 while continuing to remain in RRC_INACTNE state).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality of wherein the small data transmission is used for transmitting uplink data in Radio Resource Control (RRC)_INACTIVE state, as taught by Laselva, in the system of Sun and Agiwal, so as to reduces the amount of signalling data generated in the network and conserves power resources (e.g., battery power) at UE 304, see Laselva, page 6 lines 28-34.
As per claim 16, claim 16 is rejected the same way as claim 7.
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Second Rejection:
Claim(s) 1 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun (US Pub. No.:2015/0282213), and further in view of AKKARAKARAN et (US Pub. No.:2018/0110074).
As per claim 1, Sun disclose A method for a User Equipment (UE)(see Fig.1, Fig.3, UE 141), comprising:
receiving a configuration of a first Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) threshold (see para. see para. 0009, 0031-0036, 0044-0047, a first RSRP configured by the base station, receiving a channel condition / RSRP is better than a first threshold), a configuration of a second RSRP threshold (see para. 0009, 0031-0036, 0044-0047, receiving a delay requirement for a configuration less than a second RSRP threshold), and a small data transmission configuration of a third RSRP threshold (see para. see para. 0009, 0031-0036, 0044-0047, receiving a size of data available for transmission is smaller than a third RSRP threshold, see also para. 0058,0077);
using the third RSRP threshold to determine whether to initiate a small data transmission, which is a Random Access Channel (RACH)-based small data transmission or a pre-configured Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource-based small data transmission, wherein the UE determines to initiate the small data transmission if at least a radio condition of the UE is above the third RSRP threshold (see Fig.5, para. 0065-0069, initiate a small data transmission, if the channel condition is better than a threshold / third RSRP threshold);
using the first RSRP threshold to determine a carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission after determining to initiate the small data transmission using the third RSRP threshold (see para. 0044-0047, 0053, when the size of the granted TB is smaller than the size of available data to transmit, the terminal re-attempt the random access procedure and when the size of the granted TB is larger than the size of available data to transmit, the terminal may assume the base station cannot support non-RRC Connection based data transmission and fall back to the random access procedure for RRC Connection (Re-)establishment / determine a carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission, see also para. 0058-0059).
Sun however does not explicitly disclose using the second RSRP threshold to determine a Random Access (RA) type for the RACH-based small data transmission after determining the carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission using the first RSRP threshold.
AKKARAKARAN however disclose using a second RSRP threshold to determine a Random Access (RA) type for a RACH-based small data transmission after determining a carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission using a first RSRP threshold (see Fig.4, Fig. 5, para. 0062-0066, UE 110 initiates the two-step RACH procedure based on RSRP value (e.g., RSRP value equal or above the threshold) and switches to a four-step RACH procedure if the transmit power required to transmit message 13 (412) is high, or if the RSRP value falls below the threshold during re-transmission of message 13 when a RSRP value of a reference signal is below a threshold value).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality of using a second RSRP threshold to determine a Random Access (RA) type for a RACH-based small data transmission after determining a carrier for the RACH-based small data transmission using a first RSRP threshold, as taught by AKKARAKARAN, in the system of Sun, so as to efficiently transmit the small data with less overhead, see AKKARAKARAN, paragraph 5-15.
As per claim 10, claim 10 is rejected the same way as claim 1.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Korean Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 10-92018-0035719 – see IDS filed 1/10/2023.
Han (US Pub. No.:2021/0352683) – see Fig.2-Fig.6, para. 0156, “to reflect the channel quality, a parameter related to the current channel quality may include one or more parameters. Correspondingly, the first channel quality and the second channel quality may also be related to one or more related parameters corresponding to the current channel quality. For example, the parameter related to the current channel quality may include any one or more of a reference signal received power (reference signal receiving power, RSRP), reference signal received quality (reference signal receiving quality, RSRQ), a reference signal carrier-to-interference-and-noise ratio (reference signal-carrier to interference plus noise ratio, RS-CINR), or a path loss (path loss, PL) obtained by measuring the downlink signal. The more parameters are two or more parameters. Correspondingly, the first channel quality may meet at least one of the following corresponding to the current channel quality: the RSRP is greater than a first threshold, the RSRQ is greater than a second threshold, the RS-CINR is greater than a third threshold, the PL is less than a fourth threshold, or the like. The second channel quality may meet at least one of the following corresponding to the current channel quality: the RSRP is less than the first threshold, the RSRQ is less than the second threshold, the RS-CINR is less than the third threshold, the PL is greater than the fourth threshold”.
He (US Pub. No.:2020/0077422) – see Fig.8, para. 0115-0130, “The small data transmission mode is determined through various combinations of following conditions: [0119] the small data transmission mode is determined based on a capability of supporting small data service transmission reported by the terminal; [0120] the base station determines the small data transmission mode according to various service models; [0121] a network determines the small data transmission mode according to the logical channel; [0122] the base station determines the small data transmission mode according to a current load; [0123] the base station determines the small data transmission mode according to a current battery level; and [0124] the base station determines the small data transmission mode of a terminal according a terminal type; for example, in order to save power in the terminal, the system message specifies that the mMTC terminal adopts the inactive state to transmit the data”.
WO 2019/134593A1 – “In order to enable the transmission of small data packets with less signaling overhead and to achieve energy saving of user equipment (UE), in the small data transmission enhancement of version 15, it is proposed that the UE may not enter the radio resource control ( The Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection state is used to implement data transmission, such as sending small data and random access message 3 together in a random access procedure. In the current consensus reached by the 3GPP, the UE determines whether to use the small data transmission mechanism for data transmission according to certain conditions of current data transmission, such as whether the network side configures parameters of small data transmission, whether the UE supports small data transmission, and is to be sent. Whether the data amount of the small data is less than or equal to the configured threshold value, and the like. The small data transmission block size threshold is configured by the base station, and the small data transmission mechanism can be used only when the amount of data to be transmitted by the UE is less than or equal to the transport block size threshold. Each enhanced coverage level corresponds to a transport block size threshold”.
Lee et al. (US Pub. No.:2011/0300858) - para. 0033, the value of the threshold value and the count value of the timer may be directly configured by the mobile communications device 110 using an upper layer signaling or be configured by the cellular station 122, the controller module 114 may first receive a first message from the cellular station 122 via the wireless module 112 prior to the triggering of the BSR and then obtain the value of the threshold value and the count value of the timer from the first message. The controller module 114 may further transmit a second message to the cellular station, indicating to the cellular station 122 that transmission of small size data is being performed via the wireless module 112 prior to the reception of the first message from the cellular station 122.
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/LAKERAM JANGBAHADUR/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469
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