Prior art — US Patent 11212838

Analysis of Prior Art for US Patent 11,212,838

I. Overview of US Patent 11,212,838

Title: Method and apparatus for transmitting uplink data on uplink resources
Publication Date: December 28, 2021
Filing Date: May 23, 2019
Priority Date: September 28, 2007
Assignee: Pantech Wireless LLC
Core Claimed Invention: The patent claims a method and a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) for managing uplink data transmission. The key elements of the claimed invention involve the WTRU receiving a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message that indicates both the uplink resources and Medium Access Control (MAC) timer information. The WTRU then transmits uplink data using these resources. The core of the novelty appears to lie in the deactivation of these uplink resources in response to the expiration of a MAC timer, which itself is configured based on the information received in the RRC message. This provides a mechanism for the network to control the duration of uplink resource allocation for a WTRU.

II. Analysis of Most Relevant Cited Prior Art

The following analysis details the most relevant prior art references cited against US Patent 11,212,838 during its prosecution. The analysis considers the potential for each reference to anticipate the claims of the patent under 35 U.S.C. § 102, which requires that a single prior art reference disclose each and every element of a claimed invention.

1. US Patent 7,480,269 B2

Full Citation: US Patent 7,480,269 B2, "Method and apparatus for scheduling uplink data transmission using UE-ID in a mobile communication system supporting uplink packet data service," assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Publication/Filing Dates:
- Publication Date: January 20, 2009
- Filing Date: November 5, 2004
Brief Description: This patent discloses a method for a Node-B (base station) to schedule uplink data transmissions for multiple User Equipments (UEs). The Node-B transmits scheduling information containing a UE-specific identifier (UE-ID) on a downlink shared channel. UEs monitor this channel, and when a UE identifies its own UE-ID, it transmits data on the allocated uplink resources. This system allows for dynamic allocation of shared uplink resources among multiple users.
Potential Anticipation of Claims:
- Relevance: This reference is relevant as it describes a system of allocating and using uplink resources in a mobile communication system. It establishes the general context in which the invention of US 11,212,838 operates.
- Anticipation Analysis: US 7,480,269 B2 focuses on the allocation and identification for uplink transmission but does not appear to disclose the specific mechanism for the deactivation of these resources as claimed in US 11,212,838. Specifically, it does not teach the use of a MAC timer that is configured by an RRC message to trigger the deactivation of the allocated uplink resources. Therefore, this reference, on its own, would be unlikely to anticipate the claims of US 11,212,838, as it is missing the key element of timer-based resource deactivation configured via RRC signaling.

2. US Patent Publication 2009/0086671 A1

Full Citation: US Patent Publication 2009/0086671 A1, "Method and apparatus for terminating transmission of a message in an enhanced random access channel," assigned to Interdigital Patent Holdings, Inc.
Publication/Filing Dates:
- Publication Date: April 2, 2009
- Filing Date: September 28, 2007
Brief Description: This patent application describes methods for terminating a message transmission on an Enhanced Random Access Channel (E-RACH). It discloses several triggers for this termination, including the expiration of a timer, the WTRU's buffer status becoming empty (signaled with a Total E-DCH Buffer Status of zero), or explicit signaling from the network. Upon such a trigger, the E-DCH resources are released.
Potential Anticipation of Claims:
- Relevance: This document is highly relevant as it addresses the same technical problem as US 11,212,838 and discloses very similar solutions.
- Anticipation Analysis: This publication is, in fact, an earlier publication of the same invention and is part of the same patent family as US 11,212,838. It shares the same priority date and inventors. As such, it is not considered prior art for the purposes of a novelty rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 102 against the claims of US 11,212,838, which is a continuation of this application's lineage. It essentially describes the same inventive concept.

3. US Patent Publication 2008/0117891 A1

Full Citation: US Patent Publication 2008/0117891 A1, "Semi-Persistent Scheduling For Traffic Spurts in Wireless Communication," assigned to Qualcomm Incorporated.
Publication/Filing Dates:
- Publication Date: May 22, 2008
- Filing Date: August 22, 2006
Brief Description: This publication discloses a method for semi-persistent scheduling of communication resources to handle bursty traffic, such as Voice over IP (VoIP). A base station can pre-allocate resources for a user device for a defined period. The release of these resources can be handled implicitly, for example, after a period of inactivity where no data is transmitted.
Potential Anticipation of Claims:
- Relevance: This reference is relevant because it deals with the allocation and subsequent release of uplink resources. The concept of releasing resources after a period of inactivity is conceptually similar to a timer-based deactivation.
- Anticipation Analysis: While this reference teaches the release of resources after a period of inactivity, it does not appear to disclose the specific mechanism claimed in US 11,212,838. The claims of the patent in question specify that the deactivation is triggered by a MAC timer that is configured by MAC timer information received in an RRC message. US 2008/0117891 A1 discusses a more general concept of implicit release and does not explicitly link this to a MAC timer configured through RRC signaling in the context of an E-RACH. Therefore, this reference would likely not anticipate the claims of US 11,212,838, as it lacks the specific combination of these elements.

Conclusion

The prior art cited against US Patent 11,212,838 establishes the technological landscape of uplink resource management in wireless communications. However, none of the examined references appear to fully disclose the specific inventive concept claimed in US 11,212,838. The novelty of the patent lies in the particular mechanism for deactivating uplink resources: the use of a MAC timer that is explicitly configured by the network via an RRC message. This provides a precise and network-controlled method for managing the duration of resource allocation, which is not clearly and explicitly taught in the cited prior art. US 2009/0086671 A1 describes the same invention and is part of the same patent family, and thus does not constitute prior art for an anticipation rejection.