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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 11-12, 14-15 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 11, 14 and 18 recites “wherein, when the connector establishes the connection with the another base station, at least one bearer or protocol configuration of the terminal is resumed based on the terminal side context information and the base station side context information.” Applicant further argues that base station side context information is not the same as terminal side context information.
Applicant’s original Specification does not disclose that the connection is resumed based on base station side context information that is different than terminal side context information. The context information discussed in Applicant’s original Specification is detailed, for example, in paragraph [0003] of Applicant’s Specification, which discloses that “the UE context is information including bearer related information, security related information, and so forth.” Applicant’s Specification further discusses that the UE context information is stored in both the base station and the terminal. The UE context information stored at the terminal is referred to as “terminal side context information.” The UE context information stored at the base station is referred to as “base station side context information.” Applicant’s Specification further discloses, for example in paragraph [0041], that “Upon receiving the RRC Connection Resume Request message, the eNB 10 retrieves the UE context of the UE 50 that is stored while being associated with the Resume Id included in the message, and resumes the bearer, etc., based on the information of the UE context,” which is one set of context information.
Accordingly, Applicant’s original Specification discloses that bearers are resumed “based on the information of the UE context,” which is one set of context information. Applicant’s original Specification does disclose that the bearers are resumed based on two different sets of context information, as recited in the claims. Applicant’s original Specification further does disclose that two different sets of context information are even present in Applicant’s invention.
Claims 12, 15 and 19 are rejected because they depend from claims 11, 14 and 18.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 11-12, 14-15 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 11, 14 and 18 recites “wherein, when the connector establishes the connection with the another base station, at least one bearer or protocol configuration of the terminal is resumed based on the terminal side context information and the base station side context information.” Applicant further argues that base station side context information is not the same as terminal side context information.
Applicant’s original Specification does not disclose that the connection is resumed based on base station side context information that is different than terminal side context information. The context information discussed in Applicant’s original Specification is detailed, for example, in paragraph [0003] of Applicant’s Specification, which discloses that “the UE context is information including bearer related information, security related information, and so forth.” Applicant’s Specification further discusses that the UE context information is stored in both the base station and the terminal. The UE context information stored at the terminal is referred to as “terminal side context information.” The UE context information stored at the base station is referred to as “base station side context information.” Applicant’s Specification further discloses, for example in paragraph [0041], that “Upon receiving the RRC Connection Resume Request message, the eNB 10 retrieves the UE context of the UE 50 that is stored while being associated with the Resume Id included in the message, and resumes the bearer, etc., based on the information of the UE context.”
Accordingly, Applicant’s original Specification discloses that bearers are resumed “based on the information of the UE context,” which is one set of context information. Applicant’s original Specification does disclose that the bearers are resumed based on two different sets of context information, as recited in the claims. Applicant’s original Specification further does disclose that two different sets of context information are even present in Applicant’s invention.
Accordingly, a person of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of the invention, would not have understood how the two different claimed terms “terminal side context information” and “base station side context information” are different, or what information is different between them. Therefore, a person of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of the invention, would not have been able to ascertain the metes and bounds of the claimed limitations “terminal side context information” and “base station side context information.”
Claims 12, 15 and 19 are rejected because they depend from claims 11, 14 and 18.
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.
Claim(s) 11-12, 14-15 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), and
wherein, when the connector establishes the connection with the another base station, at least one bearer or protocol configuration of the terminal is resumed (Somasundaram, paragraph [0032], target eNB sends a response to the WTRU that the WTRU may reuse the previous context information) based on the terminal side context information and the base station side context information (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).
Somasundaram does not explicitly disclose an authentication token.
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, when the connector establishes the connection with the another base station, at least one bearer or protocol configuration of the terminal is resumed based on the terminal side context information and the base station side context information (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).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for the receiver to receive, in addition to the identifying information, an Authentication Token that is information related to security from the terminal and is calculated by the terminal, and for the receiver to receive a suspend command and store context information, in the invention of Somasundaram. The motivation to combine the references would have been to validate security context of the UE and to quickly be able to restore the connection.
Somasundaram does not explicitly disclose a Authentication Token that is a bit sequence.
Jiang discloses a Authentication Token, wherein the Authentication Token is a part of a bit sequence calculated using 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 a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for Authentication Token to be a MAC-I calculated based on a bit sequence calculated using Access Stratum (AS) layer security information of the terminal, in the invention of Somasundaram in view of Schliwa-Bertling. The motivation to combine the references would have been to generate the security token according to known methods.
Watanabe discloses that the retaining base station receiving, from the another base station, the Authentication Token (Watanabe, paragraph [0077], eNB 101 transmits the authentication token to the eNB 102).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for the retaining base station to receive, in addition to the identifying information, an Authentication Token, in the invention of Somasundaram. The motivation to combine the references would have been to validate security context of the UE and to quickly be able to restore the connection.
Regarding claim 12, Somasundaram in view of Schliwa-Bertling, and further in view of Jiang, and further in view of Watanabe discloses the terminal according to claim 11, 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 [0121], wireless device receives a command to transition into suspended idle mode and caches a context related to the last connection). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for the receiver to receive a suspend command to transition to and idle state, in the invention of Somasundaram. The motivation to combine the references would have been to free up resources in the network and save battery life in the UE.
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, when the connector establishes the connection with the another base station, at least one bearer or protocol configuration of the terminal is resumed (Somasundaram, paragraph [0032], target eNB sends a response to the WTRU that the WTRU may reuse the previous context information) based on the terminal side context information and the base station side context information (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).
Somasundaram does not explicitly disclose an authentication code.
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, when the connector establishes the connection with the another base station, at least one bearer or protocol configuration of the terminal is resumed based on the terminal side context information and the base station side context information (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).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for the receiver to receive, in addition to the identifying information, an Authentication Token that is information related to security from the terminal and is calculated by the terminal, and for the receiver to receive a suspend command and store context information, in the invention of Somasundaram. The motivation to combine the references would have been to validate security context of the UE and to quickly be able to restore the connection.
Somasundaram does not explicitly disclose a Authentication Token that is a bit sequence.
Jiang discloses a Authentication Token, wherein the Authentication Token is a part of a bit sequence calculated using 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 a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for Authentication Token to be a MAC-I calculated based on a bit sequence calculated using Access Stratum (AS) layer security information of the terminal, in the invention of Somasundaram in view of Schliwa-Bertling. The motivation to combine the references would have been to generate the security token according to known methods.
Watanabe discloses that the retaining base station receiving, from the another base station, the Authentication Token (Watanabe, paragraph [0077], eNB 101 transmits the authentication token to the eNB 102).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for the retaining base station to receive, in addition to the identifying information, an Authentication Token, in the invention of Somasundaram. The motivation to combine the references would have been to validate security context of the UE and to quickly be able to restore the connection.
Claim 15 is rejected under substantially the same rationale as claim 12.
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, when the connector establishes the connection with the another base station, at least one bearer or protocol configuration of the terminal is resumed (Somasundaram, paragraph [0032], target eNB sends a response to the WTRU that the WTRU may reuse the previous context information) based on the terminal side context information and the base station side context information (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).
Somasundaram does not explicitly disclose that the resume message includes an authentication code.
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, when the connector establishes the connection with the another base station, at least one bearer or protocol configuration of the terminal is resumed based on the terminal side context information and the base station side context information (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).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for the receiver to receive, in addition to the identifying information, an Authentication Token that is information related to security from the terminal and is calculated by the terminal, and for the receiver to receive a suspend command and store context information, in the invention of Somasundaram. The motivation to combine the references would have been to validate security context of the UE and to quickly be able to restore the connection.
Somasundaram does not explicitly disclose an Authentication Token that is a bit sequence.
Jiang discloses a Authentication Token, wherein the Authentication Token is a part of a bit sequence calculated using 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 a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for Authentication Token to be a MAC-I calculated based on a bit sequence calculated using Access Stratum (AS) layer security information of the terminal, in the invention of Somasundaram in view of Schliwa-Bertling. The motivation to combine the references would have been to generate the security token according to known methods.
Watanabe discloses that the retaining base station receiving, from the another base station, the Authentication Token (Watanabe, paragraph [0077], eNB 101 transmits the authentication token to the eNB 102).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for the retaining base station to receive, in addition to the identifying information, an Authentication Token, in the invention of Somasundaram. The motivation to combine the references would have been to validate security context of the UE and to quickly be able to restore the connection.
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, Somasundaram in view of Schliwa-Bertling, and further in view of Jiang, and further in view of Mukherjee discloses the mobile communication system according to claim 18, further comprising: , 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 a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for the eNB 2 to transmit an RRC release to the UE in the invention of Somasundaram. The motivation to combine the references would have been to free up resources in the network and save battery life in the UE.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed November 28, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant asserts that the cited references do not disclose “wherein, when the connector establishes the connection with the another base station, at least one bearer or protocol configuration of the terminal is resumed based on the terminal side context information and the base station side context information,” because Applicant asserts that (1) Somasundaram allegedly does not describe a specific bearer, and (2) because the reuse in Somasundaram is base station side information, which is allegedly not the same as terminal side context information. However, this is incorrect.
Regarding (1), Somasundaram, discloses for example in paragraph [0028], that context information means RRC context, PDCP context; and in paragraph [0032], that target eNB sends a response to the WTRU that the WTRU may reuse the previous context information. The PDCP context is bearer information. Reusing the PDCP context is resuming at least one bearer.
Regarding (2), the context information in Applicant’s Specification and in Somasundaram is same context information about the connected between the terminal and the eNB. Somasundaram discloses, for example in paragraph [0030], that 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. The UE identity and/or cell identity are both part of the context information, and are stored at the UE.
Applicant asserts that the cited references do not disclose “wherein, when the connector establishes the connection with the another base station, at least one bearer or protocol configuration of the terminal is resumed based on the terminal side context information and the base station side context information,” because Applicant asserts that Schliwa-Bertling allegedly does teach resuming a bearer and does not teach being based on a combination of terminal side context information and base station side context information. However, this is incorrect. The context information in Applicant’s Specification and in Schliwa-Bertling is same context information about the connected between the terminal and the eNB. Schliwa-Bertling discloses, for example in 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; and in paragraph [0121], wireless device receives a command to transition into suspended idle mode and caches a context related to the last connection; and in paragraph [0122], the bearers are kept/maintained; and in paragraph [0207], authentication token provided by wireless device trying to resume the connection to validate that it is the correct wireless device. The data related to the connection which is saved in the wireless device and network nodes and the cached context related to the last connection is context information. Resuming the connection and keeping/maintaining the bearers is resuming the bearers.
Applicant further asserts that the claims are patentable because a person of ordinary skill would have had no motivation to combine the references. However, this is incorrect. 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALAN LOUIS LINDENBAUM whose telephone number is (571)270-3858. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST.
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, Nishant Divecha can be reached on (571) 270-3125. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, 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.
/ALAN L LINDENBAUM/Examiner, Art Unit 2466
/Nishant Divecha/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2419