Detailed Action
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 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 1 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu (US 20200037380 A1 dated 2020-01-30) in view of Murray et al. (WO 2021113581 A1 date filed 2020-12-04)
As to Claim 1, QIU et al. discloses A processor of a multi-user subscriber identity module (MUSIM) user equipment (UE) configured to perform operations comprising:
initiating a first voice call with a first network associated with a first subscriber identity module (SIM) of the MUSIM UE; (Paragraph [0180] – “In the process in which the SIM card 1 of the terminal 100 makes the voice call with the terminal 120”)
receiving a paging request from a second network indicating an incoming voice call associated with a second SIM of the MUSIM UE, wherein the paging request is received while the first voice call is active; (Paragraph [0180] – “ if the terminal 100 receives an incoming call of the user C for the SIM card 2, after the terminal 100 obtains the incoming call information (such as a phone number of the user C) for the SIM card 2, the terminal 100 may display a graphical user interface (Graphical User Interface, GUI) shown in FIG. 9B.”)
performing a radio resource control (RRC) connection setup with the second network; (Paragraph [0004] – “After the SIM card 2 receives the paging request, the mobile phone supporting DR-DSDS may send radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) signaling to a network device in response to the paging request, to establish an RRC connection to the network device, and perform a service corresponding to the paging request.” And Paragraph [0181] – “… when the SIM card 1 of the terminal 100 is in the call state, …the terminal 100 receives the paging request for the SIM card 2… and occupies the radio frequency Tx resource to send the RRC signaling, to establish the RRC connection to the base station. In this way, the terminal 100 can implement dual SIM dual active” And Paragraph [0130] – “FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are a schematic flowchart of a communication method for implementing dual SIM dual active”)
performing one of accepting the incoming voice call or rejecting the incoming voice call. (Paragraph [0180] – “The GUI shown in FIG. 9B may include: incoming call notification information (for example, “SIM card 2: an incoming call of the user C”) 906 for the SIM card 2, an end-and-answer icon 907, a continue-and-hang-up icon 908, an information icon 909, and another icon.”)
Qiu discloses when the incoming voice call is rejected (Paragraph [0180] – “The GUI shown in FIG. 9B may include: incoming call notification information (for example, “SIM card 2: an incoming call of the user C”) 906 for the SIM card 2, an end-and-answer icon 907, a continue-and-hang-up icon 908, an information icon 909, and another icon.” Here continue-and-hang-up option is chosen for rejecting the incoming voice call.):
Qiu does not explicitly recite when the incoming voice call is rejected: transmitting, to the second network, a UE assistance information (UAI) message indicating a preference of the MUSIM UE to transition out of an RRC connected state for a MUSIM operation, wherein the UAI message includes an RRC connection release request; and receiving an RRC connection release from the second network in response to indicating the preference of the MUSIM UE to transition out of the RRC connected state for the MUSIM operation; and when the incoming voice call is accepted: transmitting, to the first network, the UAI message indicating the preference of the MUSIM UE to transition out of the RRC connected state for the MUSIM operation, wherein the UAI message includes an RRC connection release request; and receiving the RRC connection release from the first network in response to indicating the preference of the MUSIM UE to transition out of the RRC connected state for the MUSIM operation.
In an analogous art, Murray et al. (WO 2021113581 A1 date filed 2020-12-04) discloses when the incoming voice call is rejected: transmitting, to the second network, a UE assistance information (UAI) message indicating a preference of the MUSIM UE to transition out of an RRC connected state for a MUSIM operation, wherein the UAI message includes an RRC connection release request; (Paragraph [0024] – “The request to release or suspend sent from the UE may correspond to transmission of a UE assistance information message related to release preference information, wherein, for example, a preferred RRC state is set to “idle” or “inactive”. “ Paragraph [00307] –“The reception of preference information may be treated by the network as a command, in which case the network applies the values of the preferred parameters when it receives the RRC connection release/suspend indication. Alternatively, reception of preference information may be treated by the network as a request, in which case the network may accept, reject or override the request and provide the UE with a response indicating its decision. And in another alternative, the network may respond by providing the UE with a “negotiated” configuration that is applied when the UE autonomously releases/suspends the RRC connection.” Paragraph [0072] - “Figure 32 is an example notification that may be used to inform the user of the need to establish a call for a given USIM.” Here in the Fig. 32 the user has the option to reject the call.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Qiu et al to include the means to RRC connection release as taught by wireless network of Murray et al. in order to release from the network.
In an analogous art, Murray et al. (WO 2021113581 A1 date filed 2020-12-04) discloses receiving an RRC connection release from the second network in response to indicating the preference of the MUSIM UE to transition out of the RRC connected state for the MUSIM operation (Paragraph [0307] – “And in another alternative, the network may respond by providing the UE with a “negotiated” configuration that is applied when the UE autonomously releases/suspends the RRC connection.”);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Qiu et al to include the means to receiving an RRC connection release as taught by wireless network of Murray et al. in order to release from the second network.
In an analogous art, Murray et al. (WO 2021113581 A1 date filed 2020-12-04) discloses when the incoming voice call is accepted: transmitting, to the first network, the UAI message indicating the preference of the MUSIM UE to transition out of the RRC connected state for the MUSIM operation, wherein the UAI message includes an RRC connection release request; (Paragraph [0024] – “The request to release or suspend sent from the UE may correspond to transmission of a UE assistance information message related to release preference information, wherein, for example, a preferred RRC state is set to “idle” or “inactive”.” Paragraph [00311] – “Figure26 is an illustration of a scenario where a multi-USIM UE in RRC_CONNECTED mode for NW1, receives a trigger to establish an RRC connection with NW2, that requires the UE to autonomously release/suspend the RRC connection with NW1.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Qiu et al to include the means to RRC connection release by Murray et al. in order to release from the network.
In an analogous art, Murray et al. (WO 2021113581 A1 date filed 2020-12-04) discloses receiving an RRC connection release from the first network in response to indicating the preference of the MUSIM UE to transition out of the RRC connected state for the MUSIM operation. (Paragraph [00311] – “Figure26 is an illustration of a scenario where a multi-USIM UE in RRC_CONNECTED mode for NW1, receives a trigger to establish an RRC connection with NW2, that requires the UE to autonomously release/suspend the RRC connection with NW1.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Qiu et al to include the means to receiving RRC connection release from the first SIM network as taught by wireless network of Murray et al. in order to release from the first network.
As to claim 19, Qiu et al. discloses A processor of a multi-user subscriber identity module (MUSIM) user equipment (UE) configured to perform operations comprising: initiating a first voice call with a first network associated with a first subscriber identity module (SIM) of the MUSIM UE; (Paragraph [0180] – “In the process in which the SIM card 1 of the terminal 100 makes the voice call with the terminal 120”)
receiving a paging request from a second network indicating an incoming voice call associated with a second SIM of the MUSIM UE, wherein the paging request is received while the first voice call is active; (Paragraph [0180] – “ if the terminal 100 receives an incoming call of the user C for the SIM card 2, after the terminal 100 obtains the incoming call information (such as a phone number of the user C) for the SIM card 2, the terminal 100 may display a graphical user interface (Graphical User Interface, GUI) shown in FIG. 9B.”)
performing a radio resource control (RRC) connection setup with the second network; (Paragraph [0004] – “After the SIM card 2 receives the paging request, the mobile phone supporting DR-DSDS may send radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) signaling to a network device in response to the paging request, to establish an RRC connection to the network device, and perform a service corresponding to the paging request.” And Paragraph [0181] – “… when the SIM card 1 of the terminal 100 is in the call state, …the terminal 100 receives the paging request for the SIM card 2… and occupies the radio frequency Tx resource to send the RRC signaling, to establish the RRC connection to the base station. In this way, the terminal 100 can implement dual SIM dual active” And Paragraph [0130] – “FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are a schematic flowchart of a communication method for implementing dual SIM dual active”)
exchanging session information protocol (SIP) messages with the second network to retrieve a caller identification (ID) of the incoming call; (Paragraph [0173, 0174] - “The terminal 100 exchanges SIP signaling with the base station 112. The terminal 100 receives incoming call information for the SIM card 2 that is sent by the base station 112.”)
tuning a transmitter of the MUSIM UE to a frequency associated with the second network at one or more predetermined periods during the RRC connection setup and the SIP messages exchange with the second network. (Paragraph [0173] - “The terminal 100 exchanges SIP signaling with the base station 112.)
Qiu discloses and when the incoming voice call is rejected and the second SIM is a data-preferred SIM, the operations further comprise: performing an RRC connection release for the RRC connection with the second network, (Paragraph [0180] – “The GUI shown in FIG. 9B may include: incoming call notification information (for example, “SIM card 2: an incoming call of the user C”) 906 for the SIM card 2, an end-and-answer icon 907, a continue-and-hang-up icon 908, an information icon 909, and another icon.” Here continue-and-hang-up option is chosen for rejecting the incoming voice call.)
In an analogous art, Murray et al. (WO 2021113581 A1 date filed 2020-12-04) discloses wherein performing the RRC connection release comprises: transmitting, to the second network, a UE assistance info (UAI) message to the second network indicating a preference of the MUSIM UE to transmission out of an RRC connected state for a MUSIM operation, wherein the UAI message includes an RRC connection release request (Paragraph [0024] – “The request to release or suspend sent from the UE may correspond to transmission of a UE assistance information message related to release preference information, wherein, for example, a preferred RRC state is set to “idle” or “inactive”. “ Paragraph [00307] –“The reception of preference information may be treated by the network as a command, in which case the network applies the values of the preferred parameters when it receives the RRC connection release/suspend indication. Alternatively, reception of preference information may be treated by the network as a request, in which case the network may accept, reject or override the request and provide the UE with a response indicating its decision. And in another alternative, the network may respond by providing the UE with a “negotiated” configuration that is applied when the UE autonomously releases/suspends the RRC connection.” Paragraph [0072] - “Figure 32 is an example notification that may be used to inform the user of the need to establish a call for a given USIM.” Here in the Fig. 32 the user has the option to reject the call.);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Qiu et al to include the means to RRC connection release as taught by wireless network of Murray et al. in order to release from the network.
In an analogous art, Murray et al. (WO 2021113581 A1 date filed 2020-12-04) discloses receiving an RRC connection release from the second network in response to indicating the preference of the MUSIM UE to transition out of the RRC connected state for the MUSIM operation. (Paragraph [0307] – “And in another alternative, the network may respond by providing the UE with a “negotiated” configuration that is applied when the UE autonomously releases/suspends the RRC connection.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Qiu et al to include the means to receiving an RRC connection release as taught by wireless network of Murray et al. in order to release from the second network
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu-Murray as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of KHOSHNEVISAN et al. (US 20200205059 A1 Dated 20181219), hereinafter Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN.
As to claim 4, Qiu et al. discloses exchanging session information protocol (SIP) messages with the second network to retrieve a caller identification (ID) of the incoming voice call. (QIU et al. US 20200037380 A1 dated 2020-01-30 Paragraph [0011] – “Correspondingly, the terminal may establish a radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) connection to a radio access network device, exchange session initiation protocol (Session Initiation Protocol, SIP) signaling with the radio access network device after establishing the RRC connection, obtain, from the radio access network device, incoming call information corresponding to the second communication connection, and then perform an incoming call notification for the second communication connection”) and Qiu does not explicitly recite wherein the operations further comprise: transmitting an indication to the second network that the UE should be configured with a single component carrier (CC)
In an analogous art, KHOSHNEVISAN discloses The processor of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: transmitting an indication to the second network that the MUSIM UE should be configured with a single component carrier (CC) (Paragraph [0066] – “In example 500, UE 1 communicates using a single component carrier”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Qiu-Murray to include the means to configuring UE with a single component carrier by KHOSHNEVISAN et al. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because this addition allows to configure the UE with a single component carrier
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Dalsgaard et al. (US 11553555 B2 Dated 2019-02-08).
As to claim 5, The combination of Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN does not explicitly recite The processor of claim 4, wherein the indication is configured to cause the network to suspend dual connectivity (DC) and carrier aggregation (CA).
In an analogous art, Dalsgaard et al. discloses The processor of claim 4, wherein the indication is configured to cause the network to suspend dual connectivity (DC) and carrier aggregation (CA). (Claim 6, Col 19 line 30-35 - the indication causes the user equipment to drop all carrier aggregation or dual connectivity configurations and transition from a carrier aggregation or dual connectivity state to a single carrier operation mode.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN et al to include the means to suspending dual connectivity (DC) and carrier aggregation (CA) by Dalsgaard et al. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because this addition allows to operate on a single carrier operation mode.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu-Murray- KHOSHNEVISAN as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Jha et al. (US 20210227376 A1 Dated 2019-08-27).
As to claim 6, The combination of Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN does not explicitly recite The processor of claim 4, wherein the indication is an explicit indication provided as part of an RRC Connection Setup Complete message sent by the MUSIM UE to the second network.
In an analogous art, Jha discloses The processor of claim 4, wherein the indication is an explicit indication provided as part of an RRC Connection Setup Complete message sent by the MUSIM UE to the second network. (Paragraph [0182] – “At step 602a, the UE (100) sends a RRC reconfiguration message for the 5G bearer to the second network (1500).” )
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN et al to include the means to sending RRC message by the UE to the second network by Jha et al. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because this addition allows to send RRC message by the UE to the second network
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Ke (US 20210289434 A1 dated 2018-12-04), hereinafter Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN-Ke.
As to claim 7, Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN does not explicitly recite The processor of claim 4, wherein the indication is an implicit indication provided as part of a UE assistance information (UAI) message sent by the MUSIM UE to the second network, wherein the implicit indication is a maxAggrBW information element (IE) having a value of zero.
In an analogous art, Ke discloses The processor of claim 4, wherein the indication is an implicit indication provided as part of a UE assistance information (UAI) message sent by the MUSIM UE to the second network, wherein the implicit indication is a maxAggrBW information element (IE) having a value of zero. (Paragraph [0272] – “The proxy network element transmits the initial UE message to the second-network AMF, where the initial UE message includes the NAS information”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN et al to include the means to providing UE message to the second network by Ke et al. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because this addition allows to transmit UE message to the second network.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN-Ke as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Kim (US 20220248281 A1 dated 2020-07-23), hereinafter Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN-Ke-Kim.
As to claim 8, The combination of Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN-Ke does not explicitly recite The processor of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise: transmitting a second indication to the second network that dual connectivity (DC) and carrier aggregation (CA) may resume.
In an analogous art, Kim discloses The processor of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise: transmitting a second indication to the second network that dual connectivity (DC) and carrier aggregation (CA) may resume. (Kim et al. Paragraph [0265] – “the cell A may start carrier aggregation or dual connectivity operation using cell D for the UE”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN-Ke et al to include the means to resuming dual connectivity (DC) and carrier aggregation (CA) as taught by wireless network of Kim et al. in order to resume operation with the second network.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN-Ke-Kim as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Babaei (US 20220124674 A1 dated 20201015).
As to claim 9, The combination of Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN-Ke-Kim does not explicitly recite The processor of claim 8, wherein the second indication is provided as part of an RRC Reconfiguration Complete message sent by the MUSIM UE to the second network.
In an analogous art, Babaei discloses The processor of claim 8, wherein the second indication is provided as part of an RRC Reconfiguration Complete message sent by the MUSIM UE to the second network. (Paragraph [0078] - “In addition, the RRC layer is responsible for establishment, maintenance and release of an RRC connection between the UE 200 and the NG-RAN 120, carrier aggregation configuration (e.g., addition, modification and release), dual connectivity configuration (e.g., addition, modification and release)”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless networks of Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN-Ke-Kim et al to include the means to providing RRC to resume dual connectivity (DC) and carrier aggregation (CA) as taught by wireless network of Babaei et al. in order to resume operation with the second network.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN-Kim as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Ke (US 20210289434 A1 dated 2018-12-04).
As to claim 10, The combination of Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN-Kim does not explicitly recite The processor of claim 8, wherein the second indication is provided as part of UE assistance info (UAI) message sent by the MUSIM UE to the second network.
In an analogous art, Ke discloses The processor of claim 8, wherein the second indication is provided as part of UE assistance info (UAI) message sent by the UE to the second network. (Paragraph [0272] – “The proxy network element transmits the initial UE message to the second-network AMF, where the initial UE message includes the NAS information”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Qiu-Murray-KHOSHNEVISAN-Kim et al to include the means to providing UE message to the second network as taught by wireless network of Ke et al. in order to complete messaging with the second network.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu in view of KHOSHNEVISAN et al. (US 20200205059 A1 Dated 20181219) and Dalsgaard et al. (US 11553555 B2 Dated 2019-02-08), Murray et al. (WO 2021113581 A1 date filed 2020-12-04), hereinafter Qiu-KHOSHNEVISAN-Dalsgaard-Murray.
As to claim 11, Qiu et al. discloses A processor of a base station configured to perform operations comprising:
transmitting a paging request to a multi-user subscriber identity module (MUSIM) user equipment (UE) indicating an incoming voice call associated with a second subscriber identity module (SIM) of the MUSIM UE, wherein the UE receives the paging request while a first voice call associated with a first SIM of the UE is active; (QIU et al. US 20200037380 A1 dated 2020-01-30 Paragraph [0180] – “ if the terminal 100 receives an incoming call of the user C for the SIM card 2, after the terminal 100 obtains the incoming call information (such as a phone number of the user C) for the SIM card 2, the terminal 100 may display a graphical user interface (Graphical User Interface, GUI) shown in FIG. 9B.”)
performing a radio resource control (RRC) connection setup with the MUSIM UE; (Paragraph [0004] – “After the SIM card 2 receives the paging request, the mobile phone supporting DR-DSDS may send radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) signaling to a network device in response to the paging request, to establish an RRC connection to the network device, and perform a service corresponding to the paging request. And Paragraph [0181] – “… when the SIM card 1 of the terminal 100 is in the call state, …the terminal 100 receives the paging request for the SIM card 2… and occupies the radio frequency Tx resource to send the RRC signaling, to establish the RRC connection to the base station. In this way, the terminal 100 can implement dual SIM dual active” And Paragraph [0130] – “FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are a schematic flowchart of a communication method for implementing dual SIM dual active”)
Qiu discloses exchanging session information protocol (SIP) messages with the MUSIM UE to provide the UE with a caller identification (ID) of the incoming call. (QIU et al. US 20200037380 A1 dated 2020-01-30 Paragraph [0011] – “Correspondingly, the terminal may establish a radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) connection to a radio access network device, exchange session initiation protocol (Session Initiation Protocol, SIP) signaling with the radio access network device after establishing the RRC connection, obtain, from the radio access network device, incoming call information corresponding to the second communication connection, and then perform an incoming call notification for the second communication connection”)
Qiu does not explicitly recite receiving an indication from the MUSIM UE that the MUSIM UE should be configured with a single component carrier (CC); suspending dual connectivity (DC) and carrier aggregation (CA);
In an analogous art, KHOSHNEVISAN discloses receiving an indication from the UE that the UE should be configured with a single component carrier (CC); (Paragraph [0066] – “In example 500, UE 1 communicates using a single component carrier”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Qiu et al to include the means to configuring UE with a single component carrier as taught by wireless network of KHOSHNEVISAN et al. in order to operate with a single component carrier.
In an analogous art, Dalsgaard et al. discloses suspending dual connectivity (DC) and carrier aggregation (CA); (Claim 6, Col 19 line 30-35 - the indication causes the user equipment to drop all carrier aggregation or dual connectivity configurations and transition from a carrier aggregation or dual connectivity state to a single carrier operation mode.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Qiu et al to include the means to suspending dual connectivity (DC) and carrier aggregation (CA) as taught by wireless network of Dalsgaard et al. in order to operate on a single carrier operation mode.
Qiu does not explicitly recite receiving, from the MUSIM UE in response to the MUSIM UE rejecting the voice call, a UE assistance info (UAI) message indicating a preference of the MUSIM UE to transition out of an RRC connected state for a MUSIM operation, wherein the UAI message includes an RRC connection release request; and transmitting an RRC connection release to the MUSIM UE in response to receiving the indicated preference of the MUSIM UE to transition out of the RRC connected state for the MUSIM operation.
In an analogous art, Murray et al. (WO 2021113581 A1 date filed 2020-12-04) discloses receiving, from the MUSIM UE in response to the MUSIM UE rejecting the voice call, a UE assistance info (UAI) message indicating a preference of the MUSIM UE to transition out of an RRC connected state for a MUSIM operation, wherein the UAI message includes an RRC connection release request (Paragraph [0024] – “The request to release or suspend sent from the UE may correspond to transmission of a UE assistance information message related to release preference information, wherein, for example, a preferred RRC state is set to “idle” or “inactive”. “ Paragraph [00307] –“The reception of preference information may be treated by the network as a command, in which case the network applies the values of the preferred parameters when it receives the RRC connection release/suspend indication. Alternatively, reception of preference information may be treated by the network as a request, in which case the network may accept, reject or override the request and provide the UE with a response indicating its decision. And in another alternative, the network may respond by providing the UE with a “negotiated” configuration that is applied when the UE autonomously releases/suspends the RRC connection.” Paragraph [0072] - “Figure 32 is an example notification that may be used to inform the user of the need to establish a call for a given USIM.” Here in the Fig. 32 the user has the option to reject the call.);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Qiu et al to include the means to RRC connection release as taught by wireless network of Murray et al. in order to release from the network.
In an analogous art, Murray et al. (WO 2021113581 A1 date filed 2020-12-04) discloses transmitting an RRC connection release to the MUSIM UE in response to receiving the indicated preference of the MUSIM UE to transition out of the RRC connected state for the MUSIM operation (Paragraph [0307] – “And in another alternative, the network may respond by providing the UE with a “negotiated” configuration that is applied when the UE autonomously releases/suspends the RRC connection.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Qiu et al to include the means to rejecting an incoming call as taught by wireless network of Murray et al. in order to reject an incoming voice call using RRC connection release.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu-KHOSHNEVISAN-Dalsgaard-Murray as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Jha et al. (US 20210227376 A1 Dated 2019-08-27).
As to claim 12, Qiu-KHOSHNEVISAN-Dalsgaard-Murray does not explicitly recite The processor of claim 11, wherein the indication is an explicit indication provided as part of an RRC Connection Setup Complete message received from the MUSIM UE.
In an analogous art, Jha discloses The processor of claim 11, wherein the indication is an explicit indication provided as part of an RRC Connection Setup Complete message received from the MUSIM UE. (Paragraph [0182] – “At step 602a, the UE (100) sends a RRC reconfiguration message for the 5G bearer to the second network (1500).” )
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Qiu-KHOSHNEVISAN-Dalsgaard-Murray et al to include the means to sending RRC message by the UE as taught by wireless network of Jha et al. in order to setup connection with the network.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu-KHOSHNEVISAN-Dalsgaard-Murray as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Kim et al. (US 20220248281 A1 dated 2020-07-23), hereinafter Qiu-KHOSHNEVISAN-Dalsgaard-Murray-Kim
As to claim 16, The combination of Qiu-KHOSHNEVISAN-Dalsgaard-Murray does not explicitly recite The processor of claim 11, wherein, when the incoming voice call is accepted, the operations further comprise: receiving a second indication from the MUSIM UE that DC-CA may resume; and resuming DC-CA.
In an analogous art, Kim et al. discloses The processor of claim 11, wherein, when the incoming voice call is accepted, the operations further comprise: receiving a second indication from the MUSIM UE that DC-CA may resume; and resuming DC-CA. (Paragraph [0265] – “the cell A may start carrier aggregation or dual connectivity operation using cell D for the UE”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Qiu-KHOSHNEVISAN-Dalsgaard-Murray et al to include the means to resuming dual connectivity (DC) and carrier aggregation (CA) as taught by wireless network of Kim et al. in order to resume connectivity with the network.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu-KHOSHNEVISAN-Dalsgaard-Murray-Kim as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of Babaei et al. (US 20220124674 A1 dated 20201015), hereinafter Qiu-KHOSHNEVISAN-Dalsgaard-Murray-Kim-Babaei
As to claim 17, The combination of Qiu-KHOSHNEVISAN-Dalsgaard-Murray-Kim does not explicitly recite The processor of claim 16, wherein the second indication is provided as part of an RRC Reconfiguration Complete message received from the MUSIM UE.
In an analogous art, Babaei discloses The processor of claim 16, wherein the second indication is provided as part of an RRC Reconfiguration Complete message received from the MUSIM UE. (Paragraph [0078] - “In addition, the RRC layer is responsible for establishment, maintenance and release of an RRC connection between the UE 200 and the NG-RAN 120, carrier aggregation configuration (e.g., addition, modification and release), dual connectivity configuration (e.g., addition, modification and release)”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Qiu-KHOSHNEVISAN-Dalsgaard-Murray-Kim et al to include the means to providing RRC to resume dual connectivity (DC) and carrier aggregation (CA) as taught by wireless network of Babaei et al. in order to resume connectivity with the network.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu-KHOSHNEVISAN-Dalsgaard-Murray-Kim as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of Ke (US 20210289434 A1 dated 2018-12-04)
As to claim 18, The combination of Qiu-KHOSHNEVISAN-Dalsgaard-Murray-Kim does not explicitly recite The processor of claim 16, wherein the second indication is provided as part of UE assistance info (UAI) message received from the MUSIM UE.
In an analogous art, Ke discloses The processor of claim 16, wherein the second indication is provided as part of UE assistance info (UAI) message received from the MUSIM UE. (Paragraph [0272] – “The proxy network element transmits the initial UE message to the second-network AMF, where the initial UE message includes the NAS information”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Qiu-KHOSHNEVISAN-Dalsgaard-Murray-Kim et al to include the means to providing UE message to the second network as taught by wireless network of Ke et al. in order to resume connectivity with the network.
Response to Applicant’s Arguments
The applicant’s arguments posted on 01/27/26 have been reviewed.
In response to Applicant’s arguments, “The Applicant submits that Cao fails to cure the above-noted deficiencies of Qiu with regard to claim 1. The Applicant submits that Sun fails to cure the above-noted deficiencies of Qiu and Cao with regard to amended claim 1. The Applicant submits that Kumar fails to cure the above-noted deficiencies of Qiu, Cao and Sun with regard to claim 1.”, the Examiner agrees and withdraws the rejections. However, upon further search and due to amendments, a prior art, Murray et al. (WO 2021113581 A1 date filed 2020-12-04) was found to reject the corresponding portions of the claims. The details are provided above under the respective claims.
Conclusion
Applicant’s amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 extension fee 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
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/ABDULLAH AL MAMUN/Examiner, Art Unit 2646
/MATTHEW D. ANDERSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2646