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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed May 20, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicants asserts that claims 11 and 14 are patentable because the combination of Somasundaram, Schliwa-Bertling, Jiang and Watanabe fails to teach (i) "wherein, upon receiving, by the receiver, information indicating that the terminal is transitioned to the RRC IDLE state, the terminal transitions to the RRC IDLE state," and (ii) "wherein the terminal receives a paging signal, and transmits an RRC connection request, wherein the RRC connection request includes at least a part of an identifier that uniquely identifies the terminal in a tracking area of the terminal." The Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Applicant argues that Schliwa-Bertling does not teach the claimed “wherein the information including the identifying information is used to request resumption of a suspended RRC connection and the information including the identifying information includes an Authentication Token,” because Schliwa-Bertling’s suspended idle mode is allegedly different than an RRC IDLE state, because “the cited paragraph [0121] itself distinguishes the disclosed state from ordinary idle mode by stating that the device "will then behave as in 'idle mode,"' rather than stating that the device actually transitions to the RRC IDLE state.” However, the examiner respectfully disagrees with applicant’s arguments. Schliwa-Bertling explicitly discloses that an “idle mode” and an “RRC-IDLE state” are the same (Schliwa-Bertling, paragraph [0099] of “an idle state, e.g. RRC_IDLE state or mode”).
Applicant further argues that Schliwa-Bertling does not teach the claimed “RRC IDLE state,” because storing context information, as disclosed in paragraph [0121] of Schliwa-Bertling, is allegedly inconsistent with a transition to RRC IDLE mode. However, term “RRC IDLE mode” does not mean that context information cannot be stored. Further, Schliwa-Bertling clearly discloses that context information can be stored in an RRC IDLE mode (paragraph [0099], an idle state, e.g. RRC_IDLE state or mode; paragraph [0121], wireless device receives a command to transition into suspended idle mode and caches a context related to the last connection).
Applicant further argues that Schliwa-Bertling does not teach "wherein the terminal receives a paging signal, and transmits an RRC connection request, wherein the RRC connection request includes at least a part of an identifier that uniquely identifies the terminal in a tracking area of the terminal," because paragraph [0121] does not teach that limitation. However, other portions of Schliwa-Bertling do disclose wherein the terminal receives a paging signal, and transmits an RRC connection request, wherein the RRC connection request includes at least a part of an identifier that uniquely identifies the terminal (Schliwa-Bertling, paragraph [0152], when the third network node 212 indicates in a paging message if data bearers are needed to be resumed or not, the wireless device 240 may then indicate the need for data bearers to be resumed or not in the following RRC Connection Resume Request) in a tracking area of the terminal (Schliwa-Bertling, paragraph [0087], MME is responsible for UE tracking; paragraph [0090], local radio area broadcast by the cell).
Applicant further asserts that “the Examiner appears acknowledge that Somasundaram fails to teach an RRC state.” However, the Examiner’s reliance on Schliwa-Bertling to reject the “RRC state” recited in claims 11 and 14 does not mean that the Examiner has acknowledged that Somasundaram fails to teach an RRC state. On the contrary, Somasundaram DOES teach an RRC state, for example, in (Figs. 1, 2 RRC_IDLE); and in (paragraphs [0009]-[0012], if not recovery, UE goes back to RRC_IDLE.) As discussed above, the disclosure of “RRC_IDLE” is an RRC IDLE state.
Applicant further asserts that the claims are patentable because a person of ordinary skill would have had no motivation to combine the references.
However, in response to applicant’s argument that there is no teaching, suggestion, or motivation to combine the references, the examiner recognizes that obviousness may be established by combining or modifying the teachings of the prior art to produce the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation to do so found either in the references themselves or in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 5 USPQ2d 1596 (Fed. Cir. 1988), In re Jones, 958 F.2d 347, 21 USPQ2d 1941 (Fed. Cir. 1992), and KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007). As discussed in the claim rejections, the motivation to combine the references would have been to ensure that the UE is authorized for the connection by validating the security context of the UE before restoring the connection.
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 11, 14 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Somasundaram et al. (US 2008/0261600) in view of Schliwa-Bertling et al. (US 2016/0278160), and further in view of Jiang (US 2007/0153793), and further in view of Watanabe (US 2013/0273918).
Regarding claim 11, Somasundaram discloses a terminal (Somasundaram, Fig. 4; paragraph [0027], WTRU 20) comprising:
a transmitter that transmits, when the terminal retains terminal side context information, information including identifying information for obtaining base station side context information from a retaining base station that retains the base station side context information for the terminal to another base station that is different from the retaining base station (Somasundaram, Figs. 4, 5; paragraph [0028], context information means RRC context, PDCP context; paragraph [0029], WTRU reselects to any available cell and sends RRC connection request to an eNB; paragraph [0030], after HO failure or RL failure, the WTRU 20 includes UE identity and eNB identity and/or cell identity as an IE in RRC connection request, cell update message or any other RRC message; paragraph [0031], target eNB requests the source eNB to transmit the WTRU’s context parameters; paragraph [0032], source eNB finds context information that matches the identity of the WTRU);
a connector that establishes a connection with the another base station by using the terminal side context information (Somasundaram, paragraph [0032], target eNB sends a response to the WTRU that the WTRU may reuse the previous context information) after the another base station obtains the base station side context information from the retaining base station (Somasundaram, paragraph [0031], target eNB requests the source eNB to transmit the WTRU’s context parameters); and
a receiver that receives a message from the another base station (Somasundaram, paragraph [0032], target eNB sends a response to the WTRU that the WTRU may reuse the previous context information),
wherein the information including the identifying information is used to request resumption of a suspended Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection (Somasundaram, Figs. 5; paragraph [0029], WTRU reselects to any available cell; paragraph [0030], after HO failure or RL failure, the WTRU 20 includes UE identity and eNB identity and/or cell identity as an IE in RRC connection request, cell update message or any other RRC message), and
wherein, upon receiving, from the another base station, the identifying information (Somasundaram, Figs. 4, 5; paragraph [0028], context information; paragraph [0029], WTRU reselects to any available cell; paragraph [0030], after HO failure or RL failure, the WTRU 20 includes UE identity and eNB identity and/or cell identity as an IE in RRC connection request, cell update message or any other RRC message; paragraph [0031], target eNB contacts the source eNB using the eNB identity included in the IE and requests the source eNB to transmit the WTRU’s context parameters; paragraph [0032], source eNB finds context information that matches the identity of the WTRU), the retaining base station transmits, to the another base station, the base station side context information identified by the identifying information (Somasundaram, paragraph [0031], target eNB requests the source eNB to transmit the WTRU’s context parameters; paragraph [0032], the source eNB transmits the context information to the target eNB),
wherein the terminal transmits an RRC connection request, wherein the RRC connection request includes at least a part of an identifier that uniquely identifies the terminal (Somasundaram, Figs. 4, 5; paragraph [0028], context information means RRC context, PDCP context; paragraph [0029], WTRU reselects to any available cell and sends RRC connection request to an eNB; paragraph [0030], after HO failure or RL failure, the WTRU 20 includes UE identity and eNB identity and/or cell identity as an IE in RRC connection request, cell update message or any other RRC message).
Somasundaram does not explicitly disclose that the information including the identifying information includes an Authentication Token, wherein the Authentication Token is calculated by the terminal using information related to security of the terminal, and wherein, upon receiving, by the receiver, information indicating that the terminal is transitioned to the RRC IDLE state, the terminal transitions to the RRC IDLE state, and wherein the terminal receives a paging signal, and wherein the terminal is in a tracking area of the terminal.
Schliwa-Bertling discloses wherein the information including the identifying information is used to request resumption of a suspended RRC connection and the information including the identifying information includes an Authentication Token (Schliwa-Bertling, paragraph [0016], instead of releasing a connection, the wireless device is “suspended,” where data related to the connection is saved in the wireless device and network nodes; paragraph [0121], wireless device receives a command to transition into suspended idle mode and caches a context related to the last connection; paragraph [0122], the bearers are kept/maintained; paragraph [0207], authentication token provided by wireless device trying to resume the connection to validate that it is the correct wireless device), wherein the Authentication Token is calculated by the terminal using information related to security of the terminal (Schliwa-Bertling, paragraph [0207], Authentication token derived from an algorithm known by the wireless device), and
wherein, upon receiving, by the receiver, information indicating that the terminal is transitioned to the RRC IDLE state, the terminal transitions to the RRC IDLE state (Schliwa-Bertling, paragraph [0099], an idle state, e.g. RRC_IDLE state or mode; paragraph [0121], wireless device receives a command to transition into suspended idle mode and caches a context related to the last connection), and
wherein the terminal receives a paging signal, and transmits an RRC connection request, wherein the RRC connection request includes at least a part of an identifier that uniquely identifies the terminal (Schliwa-Bertling, paragraph [0152], when the third network node 212 indicates in a paging message if data bearers are needed to be resumed or not, the wireless device 240 may then indicate the need for data bearers to be resumed or not in the following RRC Connection Resume Request) in a tracking area of the terminal (Schliwa-Bertling, paragraph [0087], MME is responsible for UE tracking; paragraph [0090], local radio area broadcast by the cell).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to add the features taught by Schliwa-Bertling into the system of Somasundaram in order to validate security context of the UE and to quickly be able to restore the connection, and for the terminal to conserve power, and for the network to keep track of the location of terminals in order to avoid congestion and determine potential nearby candidate cells.
The combination of Somasundaram and Schliwa-Bertling does not explicitly disclose that the information including the identifying information includes an Authentication Token, wherein the Authentication Token is a part of a bit sequence calculated by the terminal using the Access Stratum (AS) layer security information of the terminal.
Jiang discloses the information including the identifying information includes an Authentication Token, wherein the Authentication Token is a part of a bit sequence calculated by the terminal using the Access Stratum (AS) layer security information of the terminal (Jiang, paragraph [0006], Access Stratum layer includes RRC; paragraph [0020], RRC-SN bit sequence; paragraph [0023], MAC-I calculated based on RRC SN).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to add the features taught by Jiang into the system of the combination of Somasundaram and Schliwa-Bertling, in order to protect system resources by preventing fake signaling from compromising security (Jiang, [0018]).
The combination of Somasundaram and Schliwa-Bertling and Jiang does not explicitly disclose the retaining base station receiving, from the another base station, the identifying information including an Authentication Token.
Watanabe discloses the retaining base station receiving, from the another base station, the retaining base station receiving, from the another base station, the identifying information including an Authentication Token (Watanabe, paragraph [0065], authentication token includes information about the cell which is the handover destination and information about the cell which is the origin of the handover; paragraph [0077], eNB 101 transmits the authentication token to the eNB 102).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to add the features taught by Watanabe into the system of the combination of Somasundaram and Schliwa-Bertling and Jiang, in order to protect system resources by preventing fake signaling from compromising security.
Regarding claim 14, Somasundaram discloses a base station (Somasundaram, Fig. 4; paragraph [0027], NodeBs 30) comprising:
a storage device that stores base station side context information for a terminal (Somasundaram, Figs. 4, 5; paragraph [0028], context information; paragraph [0029], WTRU reselects to any available cell; paragraph [0030], after HO failure or RL failure, the WTRU 20 includes UE identity and eNB identity and/or cell identity as an IE in RRC connection request, cell update message or any other RRC message; paragraph [0031], target eNB requests the source eNB to transmit the WTRU’s context parameters; paragraph [0032], source eNB finds context information that matches the identity of the WTRU and transmits the context information to the target eNB); and
a receiver that receives, from another base station, information including identifying information for obtaining the base station side context information (Somasundaram, paragraph [0031], target eNB contacts the source eNB using the eNB identity included in the IE and requests the source eNB to transmit the WTRU’s context parameters); and
a transmitter that transmits, to the another base station, the base station side context information in response to the context request message (Somasundaram, paragraph [0031], target eNB requests the source eNB to transmit the WTRU’s context parameters; paragraph [0032], the source eNB transmits the context information to the target eNB),
wherein the information including the identifying information is used to request resumption of a suspended Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection (Somasundaram, Figs. 5; paragraph [0029], WTRU reselects to any available cell; paragraph [0030], after HO failure or RL failure, the WTRU 20 includes UE identity and eNB identity and/or cell identity as an IE in RRC connection request, cell update message or any other RRC message) , and
wherein, upon receiving, from the another base station, the identifying information (Somasundaram, Figs. 4, 5; paragraph [0028], context information; paragraph [0029], WTRU reselects to any available cell; paragraph [0030], after HO failure or RL failure, the WTRU 20 includes UE identity and eNB identity and/or cell identity as an IE in RRC connection request, cell update message or any other RRC message; paragraph [0031], target eNB contacts the source eNB using the eNB identity included in the IE and requests the source eNB to transmit the WTRU’s context parameters; paragraph [0032], source eNB finds context information that matches the identity of the WTRU), the retaining base station transmits, to the another base station, the base station side context information identified by the identifying information (Somasundaram, paragraph [0031], target eNB requests the source eNB to transmit the WTRU’s context parameters; paragraph [0032], the source eNB transmits the context information to the target eNB), and
wherein the base station receives an RRC connection request, wherein the RRC connection request includes at least a part of an identifier that uniquely identifies the terminal (Somasundaram, Figs. 4, 5; paragraph [0028], context information means RRC context, PDCP context; paragraph [0029], WTRU reselects to any available cell and sends RRC connection request to an eNB; paragraph [0030], after HO failure or RL failure, the WTRU 20 includes UE identity and eNB identity and/or cell identity as an IE in RRC connection request, cell update message or any other RRC message).
Somasundaram does not explicitly disclose that the information including the identifying information includes an Authentication Token, wherein the Authentication Token is calculated by the terminal using information related to security of the terminal, and wherein the transmitter transmits, to the terminal, information indicating that the terminal is transitioned to the RRC IDLE state, the terminal transitions to the RRC IDLE state, and wherein the base station transmits a paging signal, and wherein the terminal is in a tracking area of the terminal.
Schliwa-Bertling discloses wherein the information including the identifying information is used to request resumption of a suspended RRC connection and the information including the identifying information includes an Authentication Token (Schliwa-Bertling, paragraph [0016], instead of releasing a connection, the wireless device is “suspended,” where data related to the connection is saved in the wireless device and network nodes; paragraph [0121], wireless device receives a command to transition into suspended idle mode and caches a context related to the last connection; paragraph [0122], the bearers are kept/maintained; paragraph [0207], authentication token provided by wireless device trying to resume the connection to validate that it is the correct wireless device), wherein the Authentication Token is calculated by the terminal using information related to security of the terminal (Schliwa-Bertling, paragraph [0207], Authentication token derived from an algorithm known by the wireless device) , and
wherein the transmitter transmits, to the terminal, information indicating that the terminal is transitioned to the RRC IDLE state, the terminal transitions to the RRC IDLE state (Schliwa-Bertling, paragraph [0099], an idle state, e.g. RRC_IDLE state or mode; paragraph [0121], wireless device receives a command to transition into suspended idle mode and caches a context related to the last connection), and
wherein the base station transmits a paging signal, and receives an RRC connection request, wherein the RRC connection request includes at least a part of an identifier that uniquely identifies the terminal (Schliwa-Bertling, paragraph [0152], when the third network node 212 indicates in a paging message if data bearers are needed to be resumed or not, the wireless device 240 may then indicate the need for data bearers to be resumed or not in the following RRC Connection Resume Request) in a tracking area of the terminal (Schliwa-Bertling, paragraph [0087], MME is responsible for UE tracking; paragraph [0090], local radio area broadcast by the cell).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to add the features taught by Schliwa-Bertling into the system of Somasundaram in order to validate security context of the UE and to quickly be able to restore the connection, and for the terminal to conserve power, and for the network to keep track of the location of terminals in order to avoid congestion and determine potential nearby candidate cells.
The combination of Somasundaram and Schliwa-Bertling does not explicitly disclose that the information including the identifying information includes an Authentication Token, wherein the Authentication Token is a part of a bit sequence calculated by the terminal using the Access Stratum (AS) layer security information of the terminal.
Jiang discloses the information including the identifying information includes an Authentication Token, wherein the Authentication Token is a part of a bit sequence calculated by the terminal using the Access Stratum (AS) layer security information of the terminal (Jiang, paragraph [0006], Access Stratum layer includes RRC; paragraph [0020], RRC-SN bit sequence; paragraph [0023], MAC-I calculated based on RRC SN).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to add the features taught by Jiang into the system of the combination of Somasundaram and Schliwa-Bertling, in order to protect system resources by preventing fake signaling from compromising security (Jiang, [0018]).
The combination of Somasundaram and Schliwa-Bertling and Jiang does not explicitly disclose the retaining base station receiving, from the another base station, the identifying information including an Authentication Token.
Watanabe discloses the retaining base station receiving, from the another base station, the retaining base station receiving, from the another base station, the identifying information including an Authentication Token (Watanabe, paragraph [0065], authentication token includes information about the cell which is the handover destination and information about the cell which is the origin of the handover; paragraph [0077], eNB 101 transmits the authentication token to the eNB 102).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to add the features taught by Watanabe into the system of the combination of Somasundaram and Schliwa-Bertling and Jiang, in order to protect system resources by preventing fake signaling from compromising security.
Regarding claim 18, Somasundaram discloses a mobile communication system including terminal (Somasundaram, Fig. 4; paragraph [0027], WTRU 20) and a base station (Somasundaram, Fig. 4; paragraph [0027], NodeBs 30), the mobile communication system comprising:
a transmitter that is for the terminal to transmit, when the terminal retains terminal side context information, identifying information for obtaining base station side context information from a retaining base station that retains the base station side context information for the terminal to the base station that is different from the retaining base station (Somasundaram, Figs. 4, 5; paragraph [0028], context information; paragraph [0029], WTRU reselects to any available cell; paragraph [0030], after HO failure or RL failure, the WTRU 20 includes UE identity and eNB identity and/or cell identity as an IE in RRC connection request, cell update message or any other RRC message; paragraph [0031], target eNB requests the source eNB to transmit the WTRU’s context parameters; paragraph [0032], source eNB finds context information that matches the identity of the WTRU);
a context retriever that is for the base station to transmit information including the identifying information to the retaining base station (Somasundaram, paragraph [0031], target eNB requests the source eNB to transmit the WTRU’s context parameters), and to obtain the base station side context information that is transmitted from the retaining base station in response to the information including the identifying information (Somasundaram, paragraph [0031], target eNB requests the source eNB to transmit the WTRU’s context parameters); and
a receiver that is for the terminal to receive a message from the base station (Somasundaram, paragraph [0032], target eNB sends a response to the WTRU that the WTRU may reuse the previous context information),,
a connector that is for the terminal to establish a connection with the base station by using the terminal side context information (Somasundaram, paragraph [0032], target eNB sends a response to the WTRU that the WTRU may reuse the previous context information),
wherein the information including the identifying information is used to request resumption of a suspended Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection (Somasundaram, Figs. 5; paragraph [0029], WTRU reselects to any available cell; paragraph [0030], after HO failure or RL failure, the WTRU 20 includes UE identity and eNB identity and/or cell identity as an IE in RRC connection request, cell update message or any other RRC message) , and
wherein the terminal transmits an RRC connection request, wherein the RRC connection request includes at least a part of an identifier that uniquely identifies the terminal (Somasundaram, Figs. 4, 5; paragraph [0028], context information means RRC context, PDCP context; paragraph [0029], WTRU reselects to any available cell and sends RRC connection request to an eNB; paragraph [0030], after HO failure or RL failure, the WTRU 20 includes UE identity and eNB identity and/or cell identity as an IE in RRC connection request, cell update message or any other RRC message).
Somasundaram does not explicitly disclose that the information including the identifying information includes an Authentication Token, wherein the Authentication Token is calculated by the terminal using information related to security of the terminal, and wherein, upon receiving, by the receiver, information indicating that the terminal is transitioned to the RRC IDLE state, the terminal transitions to the RRC IDLE state, and wherein the terminal receives a paging signal, and wherein the terminal is in a tracking area of the terminal.
Schliwa-Bertling discloses wherein the information including the identifying information is used to request resumption of a suspended RRC connection and the information including the identifying information includes an Authentication Token (Schliwa-Bertling, paragraph [0016], instead of releasing a connection, the wireless device is “suspended,” where data related to the connection is saved in the wireless device and network nodes; paragraph [0121], wireless device receives a command to transition into suspended idle mode and caches a context related to the last connection; paragraph [0122], the bearers are kept/maintained; paragraph [0207], authentication token provided by wireless device trying to resume the connection to validate that it is the correct wireless device), wherein the Authentication Token is calculated by the terminal using information related to security of the terminal (Schliwa-Bertling, paragraph [0207], Authentication token derived from an algorithm known by the wireless device), and
wherein, upon receiving, by the receiver, information indicating that the terminal is transitioned to the RRC IDLE state, the terminal transitions to the RRC IDLE state (Schliwa-Bertling, paragraph [0099], an idle state, e.g. RRC_IDLE state or mode; paragraph [0121], wireless device receives a command to transition into suspended idle mode and caches a context related to the last connection), and
wherein the terminal receives a paging signal, and transmits an RRC connection request, wherein the RRC connection request includes at least a part of an identifier that uniquely identifies the terminal (Schliwa-Bertling, paragraph [0152], when the third network node 212 indicates in a paging message if data bearers are needed to be resumed or not, the wireless device 240 may then indicate the need for data bearers to be resumed or not in the following RRC Connection Resume Request) in a tracking area of the terminal (Schliwa-Bertling, paragraph [0087], MME is responsible for UE tracking; paragraph [0090], local radio area broadcast by the cell).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to add the features taught by Schliwa-Bertling into the system of Somasundaram in order to validate security context of the UE and to quickly be able to restore the connection, and for the terminal to conserve power, and for the network to keep track of the location of terminals in order to avoid congestion and determine potential nearby candidate cells.
The combination of Somasundaram and Schliwa-Bertling does not explicitly disclose that the information including the identifying information includes an Authentication Token, wherein the Authentication Token is a part of a bit sequence calculated by the terminal using the Access Stratum (AS) layer security information of the terminal.
Jiang discloses the information including the identifying information includes an Authentication Token, wherein the Authentication Token is a part of a bit sequence calculated by the terminal using the Access Stratum (AS) layer security information of the terminal (Jiang, paragraph [0006], Access Stratum layer includes RRC; paragraph [0020], RRC-SN bit sequence; paragraph [0023], MAC-I calculated based on RRC SN).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to add the features taught by Jiang into the system of the combination of Somasundaram and Schliwa-Bertling, in order to protect system resources by preventing fake signaling from compromising security (Jiang, [0018]).
The combination of Somasundaram and Schliwa-Bertling and Jiang does not explicitly disclose the retaining base station receiving, from the another base station, the identifying information including an Authentication Token.
Watanabe discloses the retaining base station receiving, from the another base station, the retaining base station receiving, from the another base station, the identifying information including an Authentication Token (Watanabe, paragraph [0065], authentication token includes information about the cell which is the handover destination and information about the cell which is the origin of the handover; paragraph [0077], eNB 101 transmits the authentication token to the eNB 102).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to add the features taught by Watanabe into the system of the combination of Somasundaram and Schliwa-Bertling and Jiang, in order to protect system resources by preventing fake signaling from compromising security.
Claim 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Somasundaram in view of Schliwa-Bertling, and further in view of Jiang, and further in view of Watanabe (US 2013/0273918) and further in view of Applicant’s Admitted Prior Art in the Background Section of Applicants Published Specification (AAPA).
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Somasundaram and Schliwa-Bertling and Jiang and Watanabe, particularly Somasundaram discloses when the context retriever is unable to obtain the base station side context information from the retaining base station, the terminal to transition to an RRC IDLE state (Somasundaram, Figs. 1, 2 RRC_IDLE; paragraphs [0009]-[0012], if not recovery, UE goes back to RRC_IDLE).
AAPA discloses a base station side transmitter that is for the base station to transmit, when the context retriever is unable to obtain the base station side context information from the retaining base station, a connection release message to the terminal; and a controller that causes, upon receiving the connection release message by the terminal, the terminal to transition to an RRC IDLE state (AAPA, paragraph [0007], eNB 2 transmits RRC release to the UE 1, so that the UE 1 transitions to the RRC idle state).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to add the features taught by AAPA into the system of the combination of Somasundaram and Schliwa-Bertling and Jiang and Watanabe, in order to instruct the terminal to transition to a mode that would free up resources in the network and save battery life in the UE.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Liu et al. (US 20150017976) discloses that the AP in LTE-LAN may send context information of the UE to the new serving eNB (shown as neighboring eNB in FIGS. 4A-4B), and this new serving eNB may store the context information of the UE for the following re-establishment procedure. In an exemplary embodiment, in order to prepare the context information which may be sent to the neighboring eNB, for example, the AP can use its current KeNB and PCI of the target cell, DL frequency of the target cell to generate KeNB, and other related security context (such as a token and a security capability of the UE) may be also contained in the context transfer procedure.
Hultin et al. (US 20110269426) discloses obtaining a Message Authentication Code, MAC algorithm for calculation of a first MAC for data Integrity, MAC-I, the MAC algorithm further being configured to calculate a MAC-I that is dependent at least on the received C-RNTI, the obtained PCI of the first cell, the obtained Cell Identity of the first cell, and the obtained Cell Identity for the second cell (110, 118). Moreover the method comprises calculating a Message Authentication Code, MAC for data Integrity, MAC-I by using the obtained MAC algorithm
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