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(s) 1-3, 5-18 and 21-23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HUAWEI: "Discussion on Proximity Indication of NPN", 3GPP DRAFT; R2-910559 DISCUSSION ON PROXIMITY INDICATION OF NPN, 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (3GPP), MOBILE COMPETENCE CENTRE ; 650, ROUTE DES LUCIOLES ; F-06921 SOPHIA-ANTIPOLIS CEDEX ; FRANC vol. RAN WG2, no. Prague, Czech Republic; 20190826 - 20190830 16 August 2019 (2019-08-16) (cited in Applicant’s IDS filed on August 15, 2022) (Hereafter, R2-910559) in view of Talebi Fard et al. (US 2020/0314701), and further in view of Tiwari et al. (US 2021/0092710).
Regarding claim 1, R2-910559 discloses a method performed by a base station in a communication network (R2-910559, page 1, Section 2.1, NG-RAN communicates with UE), the method comprising:
receiving, from a user equipment (“UE”) connected to a non-public radio cell, a first message comprising a first indication of an access mode of the UE (R2-910559, page 1, Section 2.1, UE accesses the PNI-NPN cell, UE shall provide CAG identifier to the NG-RAN, UE’s subscription contains an indication that the UE is only allowed to access CAG cells; page 4, UE sends proximity indication when it enters a CAG/SNPN cell that the UE may switch to SNPN access mode or switch to PLMN access mode);
transmitting, to the UE and in response to the first message, a second message specifying at least one measurement configuration (R2-910559, page 3, observation 4, lines 1-2, NG-RAN configures measurement to the UE for the neighbor; page 4, source NG-RAN configures the UE with measurement configuration for concerned frequency/RAT), wherein the at least one measurement configuration comprises an instruction to provide a member status of one or more communication networks for non-public use, wherein the second message comprises an identity of each of the one or more communication networks for which measurements are to be reported, and wherein the second message indicates whether both a public radio cell and the non-public radio cell are to be measured (R2-910559, page 1, Section 2.1, UE shall provide CAG identifier to the NG-RAN; page 2, section 2.2, serving NG-RAN can configure the UEs connected to the normal PLMN cell to report the CAG ID together with the measurement report; page 3, observation 4, lines 1-2, NG-RAN configures measurement to the UE for the neighbor; page 4, source NG-RAN configures the UE with measurement configuration for concerned frequency/RAT, CAG ID, NID; page 4, network may minimize requesting of handover preparation information of cells, UE sends a measurement report);
receiving, from the UE, a measurement report comprising measurement results of at least one neighboring radio cell of the communication network (R2-910559, page 3, observation 4, lines 1-2, NG-RAN configures measurement to the UE for the neighbor; page 4, UE sends a measurement report), wherein the measurement report further comprises the a member status of the one or more communication networks for non-public use and the identity of each of the one or more communication networks for which measurements are being reported (R2-910559, page 4, UE sends a measurement report including NR CGI, TAI, NID/CAG ID);
determining, by the base station, to handover the UE to another radio cell of the communication network in accordance with the measurement results (R2-910559, page 4, source NG-RAN decides whether to handover the UE to the target NG-RAN based on the measurement report); and
transmitting a third message to the UE instructing the UE to handover to another radio cell of the communication network in accordance with the measurement results (R2-910559, page 4, source NG-RAN triggers HO based on the NID/CAG ID).
Although R2-910559 discloses all of the claim limitations, the Examiner includes the Talebi Fard reference to more explicitly disclose transmitting a third message to the UE instructing the UE to handover.
Talebi Fard discloses transmitting, to the UE and in response to the first message, a second message specifying at least one measurement configuration (Talebi Fard, paragraph [0261], measurement configuration), wherein the at least one measurement configuration comprises an instruction to provide a member status of one or more communication networks for non-public use, wherein the second message comprises an identity of each of the one or more communication networks for which measurements are to be reported, and wherein the second message indicates whether both a public radio cell and the non-public radio cell are to be measured (Talebi Fard, paragraph [0070], S-NSSAI identifies a network slice and comprises a slice/service type; paragraph [0264], gNB determines whether requested slices/S-NSSAIs are mapped to CAGS; paragraph [0278], normal measurement procedures may be used to support handover to cells with a CSG ID, RAN may request the UE to provide cell global identity, CSG identity and CSG membership status ; paragraph [0319], RAN nodes shared by NPN and PLMN; paragraph [0321], UE may be authorized to use both public PLMN and non-public networks);
transmitting a third message to the UE instructing the UE to handover to another radio cell of the communication network in accordance with the measurement results (Talebi Fard, paragraphs [0273]-[0274], network triggers the handover procedure, gNB sends handover message to the UE). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to transmit a message to the UE instructing the UE to handover, in the invention of R2-910559. The motivation to combine the references would have been to cause the UE to handover.
Although R2-910559 discloses all of the claim limitations, the Examiner includes the Tiwari reference to more explicitly disclose that the measurement report further comprises a member status of the one or more communication networks for non-public use.
Tawari discloses transmitting, to the UE and in response to the first message, a second message specifying at least one measurement configuration, wherein the at least one measurement configuration comprises an instruction to provide a member status of one or more communication networks for non-public use, wherein the second message comprises an identity of each of the one or more communication networks for which measurements are to be reported (Tiwari, paragraph [0116], RAN sends RRC measurement control message containing information about the CAG cells to be measured and reported; paragraph [0118], UE will indicate for all CAG identities broadcasted in the cell, for each CAG identity whether the UE is a member of the CAG ID; paragraph [0119], list of the CAG identities and member status), and wherein the second message indicates whether both a public radio cell and the non-public radio cell are to be measured (Tiwari, paragraph [0072], Table 4, allowed PNI-NPN list indicates PLMN IDs and CAG IDs and indicates whether the UE is allowed to access PLMN cells and PNI-NPN cells).
the measurement report further comprises the a member status of the one or more communication networks for non-public use and the identity of each of the one or more communication networks for which measurements are being reported (Tiwari, paragraph [0118], UE will indicate for all CAG identities broadcasted in the cell, for each CAG identity whether the UE is a member of the CAG ID; paragraph [0119], list of the CAG identities and member status).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, that the measurement configuration comprises an instruction to provide a member status of one or more communication networks for non-public use and the measurement report further comprises the a member status of the one or more communication networks for non-public use, in the invention of R2-910559. The motivation to combine the references would have been to skip a handover procedure for a cell on which the UE is not allowed.
Regarding claim 2, R2-910559 in view of Talebi Fard, and further in view of Tiwari discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the first indication of the access mode comprises information specifying a communication network access type for a UE, the communication network access type selected from the group consisting of: public use only, non-public use only, and both public and non-public use (R2-910559, page 1, Section 2.1, UE shall provide CAG identifier to the NG-RAN, UE’s subscription contains an indication that the UE is only allowed to access CAG cells; page 4, UE sends proximity indication when it enters a CAG/SNPN cell that the UE may switch to SNPN access mode or switch to PLMN access mode).
Regarding claim 3, R2-910559 in view of Talebi Fard, and further in view of Tiwari discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the first message comprises a restriction indication for the UE, wherein the restriction indication comprises information specifying whether the UE is a type of device for which cell access restrictions are to be applied (R2-910559, page 1, Section 2.1, UE shall provide CAG identifier to the NG-RAN, UE’s subscription contains an indication that the UE is only allowed to access CAG cells; page 4, UE sends proximity indication when it enters a CAG/SNPN cell that the UE may switch to SNPN access mode or switch to PLMN access mode).
Regarding claim 5, R2-910559 in view of Talebi Fard, and further in view of Tiwari discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the at least one measurement configuration comprises at least a configuration for performing measurements and a configuration for reporting measurement results (R2-910559, page 2, section 2.2, serving NG-RAN can configure the UE to report the CAG ID together with the measurement report; page 3, observation 4, lines 1-2, NG-RAN configures measurement to the UE for the neighbor; page 4, source NG-RAN configures the UE with measurement configuration for concerned frequency/RAT; page 4, UE sends a measurement report).
Regarding claim 6, R2-910559 in view of Talebi Fard, and further in view of Tiwari discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the second message is transmitted using Access Stratum protocols (Talebi Fard, paragraphs [0273]-[0274], access stratum), wherein the second message comprises one or more of the following parameters:
an identity of one or more access groups associated with cells of the one or more communication networks for non-public use; and an indication of one or more cell access restrictions for communication devices for which cell access restrictions are to be applied (R2-910559, page 2, section 2.2, serving NG-RAN can configure the UE to report the CAG ID together with the measurement report; page 3, observation 4, lines 1-2, NG-RAN configures measurement to the UE for the neighbor; page 4, source NG-RAN configures the UE with measurement configuration for concerned frequency/RAT; page 4, ,network may minimize requesting of handover preparation information of cells, UE sends a measurement report) (Tiwari, paragraph [0116], RAN sends RRC measurement control message containing information about the CAG cells to be measured and reported; paragraph [0118], UE will indicate for all CAG identities broadcasted in the cell, for each CAG identity whether the UE is a member of the CAG ID; paragraph [0119], list of the CAG identities and member status).
Regarding claim 7, R2-910559 in view of Talebi Fard, and further in view of Tiwari discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the measurement report further comprises one or more of the following parameters: an identity of one or more access groups associated with cells of the one or more communication networks for non-public use; and an indication of one or more cell access restrictions for communication devices for which cell access restrictions are to be applied (R2-910559, page 4,network may us the proximity indication to minimize requesting of handover preparation information of cells, UE sends a measurement report including NR CGI, TAI, NID/CAG ID).
Regarding claim 8, R2-910559 in view of Talebi Fard, and further in view of Tiwari discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the first message indicates that the UE is permitted to access radio cells for public use and/or radio cells for non-public use (R2-910559, page 1, Section 2.1, UE shall provide CAG identifier to the NG-RAN, UE’s subscription contains an indication that the UE is only allowed to access CAG cells), the method further comprising: receiving a second indication from the UE that indicates that the UE is access-restricted to a set of radio cells for non-public use (R2-910559, page 4, UE sends proximity indication when it enters a CAG/SNPN cell that the UE may switch to SNPN access mode or switch to PLMN access mode); and
transmitting a fourth message to the UE specifying at least one modified measurement configuration, wherein the UE performs and reports measurement of the at least one neighboring cell of the communication network in accordance with the at least one modified measurement configuration, wherein determining to handover the UE to another radio cell comprises selecting a neighboring radio cell that belongs to the set of radio cells (R2-910559, page 2, Section 2.2, The Mobility Restrictions shall be able to restrict the UE's mobility according to the Allowed CAG list (if configured in the subscription) and include an indication whether the UE is only allowed to access CAG cells (if configured in the subscription; page 4,network may us the proximity indication to minimize requesting of handover preparation information of cells).
Regarding claim 9, R2-910559 in view of Talebi Fard, and further in view of Tiwari discloses the method of claim 8, wherein the at least one modified measurement configuration indicates not to perform measurements of any public radio cell in the communication network (R2-910559, page 2, Section 2.2, The Mobility Restrictions shall be able to restrict the UE's mobility according to the Allowed CAG list (if configured in the subscription) and include an indication whether the UE is only allowed to access CAG cells (if configured in the subscription)).
Claim 10 is rejected under substantially the same rationale as claim 1. Talebi Fard additionally discloses a transceiver that communicates with a user equipment device (Talebi Fard, Fig. 3, communication interface; paragraph [0231], transmitter/receiver).
Claim 11 is rejected under substantially the same rationale as claim 1. R2-910559 further discloses performing measurement of at least one neighboring cell of the communication network in accordance with the at least one measurement configuration (R2-910559, page 3, observation 4, lines 1-2, NG-RAN configures measurement to the UE for the neighbor; page 4, source NG-RAN configures the UE with measurement configuration for concerned frequency/RAT, UE can perform measurements).
Claims 12-17 are rejected under substantially the same rationale as claims 2-3, 5-6 and 8-9, respectively.
Claim 18 is rejected under substantially the same rationale as claim 1. R2-910559 further discloses performing measurement of at least one neighboring cell of the communication network in accordance with the at least one measurement configuration (R2-910559, page 3, observation 4, lines 1-2, NG-RAN configures measurement to the UE for the neighbor; page 4, source NG-RAN configures the UE with measurement configuration for concerned frequency/RAT, UE can perform measurements) and Talebi Fard additionally discloses a transceiver that communicates with a user equipment device (Talebi Fard, Fig. 3, communication interface; paragraph [0231], transmitter/receiver).
Claim 21-23 are rejected under substantially the same rationale as claims 7-9, respectively.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed July 30, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant asserts that the cited references do not disclose “wherein the second message indicates whether both a public radio cell and the non-public radio cell are to be measured,” even though Applicant acknowledges that R2-910559 discloses that both PNI-NPN cells and SNPN cells are being measured by the UE. Accordingly, Applicant’s assertion is incorrect. A PNI-NPN IS a PUBLIC CELL in which a portion of the resources are used for a Non-Public Network. Therefore, measuring a PNI-NPN is measuring both public cell and a non-public cell.
Further, all three of three of the references disclose wherein the second message indicates whether both a public radio cell and the non-public radio cell are to be measured. R2-910559 discloses, for example on page 2, section 2.2, serving NG-RAN can configure the UEs connected to the normal PLMN cell to report the CAG ID together with the measurement report. Talebi Fard discloses, for example in paragraph [0070], S-NSSAI identifies a network slice and comprises a slice/service type; paragraph [0264], gNB determines whether requested slices/S-NSSAIs are mapped to CAGS; paragraph [0278], normal measurement procedures may be used to support handover to cells with a CSG ID, RAN may request the UE to provide cell global identity, CSG identity and CSG membership status ; paragraph [0319], RAN nodes may be shared by NPN and PLMN; paragraph [0321], UE may be authorized to use both public PLMN and non-public networks. Tiwari discloses, for example in paragraph [0072] and Table 4, that an allowed PNI-NPN list indicates PLMN IDs and CAG IDs and indicates whether the UE is allowed to access PLMN cells and PNI-NPN cells.
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.
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/ALAN L LINDENBAUM/ Examiner, Art Unit 2466
/Nishant Divecha/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2419