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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 03/17/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/18/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Fang fails to teach "detecting that a connection between the terminal device and the source network device fails before successfully accessing the target network", and "recording a first report", wherein "the first report includes indication information, and the indication information includes a first value that clearly or explicitly indicates the connection between the terminal device and the source network device failed before the terminal device accessed the target network device" as recited by independent claim 1, as amended. The examiner, however, does not agree with the Applicant. Fang discloses detecting that a connection between the terminal device and the source network device fails before successfully accessing the target network (Step 801, “the connection failure to the source cell in the handover process”; Step 802, time UE receives the handover command to time of failure 10ms, and time to successfully switches to the target cell 50ms, therefore the connection to the source cell fails before successfully accessing the target network); and recording a first report, wherein the first report includes indication information (Step 802, “the UE stores the connection failure information”), and the indication information includes a first value (time to connection failure and time to successfully switches to the target cell) that clearly or explicitly indicates the connection between the terminal device and the source network device fails before the terminal device accesses the target network device (Step 807, “The connection failure information comprises the UE receives the handover command to the source cell connection failure time is 10ms, the UE receives the handover command to successfully switches to the target cell time is 50ms, calculating to obtain the switching process of UE has short service 40ms is interrupted.”).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 5, 13, 15, 21, 22, 24, 25 and 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fang (CN 107666672 A – See English Text).
Regarding claim 1, Fang discloses a communication method (figure 8), wherein the method comprises: receiving a first message from a source network device, wherein the first message is used to enable a terminal device to hand over from the source network device to a target network device (page 12, Steps 801 and 802, “the UE in the switching process of the target eNB in the target cell to the source cell by the source eNB”; and “the UE receives the handover command”); maintaining data transmission between the terminal device and the source network device after receiving the first message (Step 801; “the UE tries to keep the connection with the source cell”); detecting that a connection between the terminal device and the source network device fails before successfully accessing the target network (Step 801, “the connection failure to the source cell in the handover process”; Step 802, time UE receives the handover command to time of failure 10ms, and time to successfully switches to the target cell 50ms, therefore the connection to the source cell fails before successfully accessing the target network); and recording a first report, wherein the first report includes indication information (Step 802, “the UE stores the connection failure information”), and the indication information includes a first value (time to connection failure and time to successfully switches to the target cell) that clearly or explicitly indicates the connection between the terminal device and the source network device fails before the terminal device accesses the target network device (Step 807, “The connection failure information comprises the UE receives the handover command to the source cell connection failure time is 10ms, the UE receives the handover command to successfully switches to the target cell time is 50ms, calculating to obtain the switching process of UE has short service 40ms is interrupted.”).
Regarding claim 2, Fang discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the detecting that a connection between the terminal device and the source network device fails includes: before the terminal device accesses the target network device, detecting that the connection between the terminal device and the source network device fails (Step 801, “the connection failure to the source cell in the handover process”; Step 802, time UE receives the handover command to time of failure 10ms); wherein the terminal device then successfully accesses the target network device (Step 802, time UE receives the handover command to time of successfully switches to the target cell 50ms).
Regarding claim 5, Fang discloses wherein the first report further includes one or more of the following information: cell information of the source network device and/or the target network device, and cell quality information corresponding to the source network device and/or the target network device at at least one time point; and wherein the at least one time point includes one or more of the following time points: a time point of receiving the first message, a time point of detecting that the connection between the terminal device and the source network device fails, a time point of accessing the target network device by the terminal device, a time point at which the trigger condition of the conditional handover is met, and a time point of sending the first report (page 12, Step 802, “the connection failure information comprises the source cell identification, target cell identification, the UE receives the handover command to the source cell connection time (10ms), time of failure (such as 50ms) the UE receives the switching order to successfully switches to the target cell”).
Regarding claim 13, Fang (figure 8) discloses a communication method, wherein the method comprises: sending, by a source network device, a first message to a terminal device, wherein the first message is used to enable the terminal device to hand over from the source network device to a target network device (Steps 801 and 802, page 12; “the UE in the switching process of the target eNB in the target cell to the source cell by the source eNB”; and “the UE receives the handover command”); receiving, by the source network device from the target network device, a first report generated by the terminal device (page 13, Step 805, “UE sends UE Information Response message carries the connection failure information stored to the target cell” and Step 806, “the target eNB sends the connection failure information acquired from the UE to the source eNB”) and the indication information includes first value (time to connection failure and time to successfully switches to the target cell) that clearly or explicitly indicates the connection between the terminal device and the source network device fails before the terminal device accesses the target network device (Step 807, “The connection failure information comprises the UE receives the handover command to the source cell connection failure time is 10ms, the UE receives the handover command to successfully switches to the target cell time is 50ms, calculating to obtain the switching process of UE has short service 40ms is interrupted.”).
Regarding claim 15, Fang discloses wherein the first report further includes one or more of the following information: cell information of the source network device and/or the target network device, and cell quality information corresponding to the source network device and/or the target network device at at least one time point; and wherein the at least one time point includes one or more of the following time points: a time point of receiving the first message, a time point of detecting that the connection between the terminal device and the source network device fails, a time point of accessing the target network device by the terminal device, a time point at which the trigger condition of the conditional handover is met, and a time point of sending the first report (Step 802, “the connection failure information comprises the source cell identification, target cell identification, the UE receives the handover command to the source cell connection time (10ms), time of failure (such as 50ms) the UE receives the switching order to successfully switches to the target cell”).
Regarding claim 21, Fang (figure 8) discloses an apparatus (user equipment UE), comprising: a memory storing computer-readable instructions; and a processor connected to the memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-readable instructions to perform operations (inherently within the UE in order for the UE to operate and perform functions) for: receiving a first message from a source network device, wherein the first message is used to enable a terminal device to hand over from the source network device to a target network device (page 12, Steps 801 and 802, “the UE in the switching process of the target eNB in the target cell to the source cell by the source eNB”; and “the UE receives the handover command”); maintaining data transmission between the terminal device and the source network device after receiving the first message (Step 801; “the UE tries to keep the connection with the source cell”); detecting that a connection between the terminal device and the source network device fails before successful accessing the target network device (Step 801, “the connection failure to the source cell in the handover process”; Step 802, time UE receives the handover command to time of failure 10ms, and time to successfully switches to the target cell 50ms, therefore the connection to the source cell fails before successfully accessing the target network); and recording a first report, wherein the first report includes indication information (Step 802, “the UE stores the connection failure information”), and the indication information includes a first value (time to connection failure and time to successfully switches to the target cell) that clearly or explicitly is usable to indicate whether the connection between the terminal device and the source network device fails before the terminal device accesses the target network device (Step 807, “The connection failure information comprises the UE receives the handover command to the source cell connection failure time is 10ms, the UE receives the handover command to successfully switches to the target cell time is 50ms, calculating to obtain the switching process of UE has short service 40ms is interrupted.”).
Regarding claim 22, Fang discloses wherein the detecting that a connection between the terminal device and the source network device fails includes: before the terminal device accesses the target network device, detecting that the connection between the terminal device and the source network device fails; wherein the processor then successfully accesses the target network device (Step 807, “The connection failure information comprises the UE receives the handover command to the source cell connection failure time is 10ms, the UE receives the handover command to successfully switches to the target cell time is 50ms”).
Regarding claim 24, Fang discloses wherein the first report further includes one or more of the following information: cell information of the source network device and/or the target network device, and cell quality information corresponding to the source network device and/or the target network device at at least one time point; and wherein the at least one time point includes one or more of the following time points: a time point of receiving the first message, a time point of detecting that the connection with the source network device fails, a time point of accessing the target network device by the processor, a time point at which the trigger condition of the conditional handover is met, and a time point of sending the first report (page 12, Step 802, “the connection failure information comprises the source cell identification, target cell identification, the UE receives the handover command to the source cell connection time (10ms), time of failure (such as 50ms) the UE receives the switching order to successfully switches to the target cell”).
Regarding claim 25, Fang discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the first report is a handover success report (Step 807, “The connection failure information comprises the UE receives the handover command to the source cell connection failure time is 10ms, the UE receives the handover command to successfully switches to the target cell time is 50ms”).
Regarding claim 28, Fang discloses the method according to claim 21, wherein the first report is a handover success report (Step 807, “The connection failure information comprises the UE receives the handover command to the source cell connection failure time is 10ms, the UE receives the handover command to successfully switches to the target cell time is 50ms”).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 3 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fang in view of Hwang et al. (US 11,540,250 B2).
Regarding claim 3, Fang discloses the communication method of claim 1 above. Fang does not explicitly disclose wherein the indication information including the first value is a one bit information. However, Hwang et al. (figure 21) disclose that indication information (of a connection setup failure) using one bit information (column 36, lines 19-20). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to adapt the one bit information of Hwang et al. to the indication information of Fang as a system design preference for serving the same function as providing indication information.
Regarding claim 14, Fang disclosse the communication method of claim 13. Fang does not explicitly disclose wherein the indication information including the first value is a one bit information indicating the terminal device successfully accessed the target network device. However, Hwang et al. (figure 21) disclose that indication information (of a connection setup failure) using one bit information (column 36, lines 19-20). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to adapt the one bit information of Hwang et al. to the indication information of Fang as a system design preference for serving the same function as providing indication information.
Claim(s) 7 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fang in view of Kim et al. (US 20210105674 A1).
Regarding claims 7 and 17, Fang discloses the method of claims 1 and 13, respectively above. Fang fails to further disclose the method above wherein the first report further includes random access information of the terminal device on the target network device, and the random access information includes comprises at least one of the following information: a quantity of times that the terminal device sends a preamble, whether a maximum quantity of preamble sending times is reached, whether a transmit power of the terminal device reaches a maximum value or a difference between the transmit power of the terminal device and the maximum value is less than or equal to a threshold in response to the terminal device sending a preamble the last time, whether a conflict is detected, whether cell or beam quality is higher than a threshold, whether a two-step random access procedure is rolled back to a four-step random access procedure, and uplink carrier information. However, Kim et al. disclose a handoff method comprising a first report includes random access information of the terminal device on the target network device, and the random access information includes comprises at least one of the following information: a quantity of times that the terminal device sends a preamble, whether a maximum quantity of preamble sending times is reached, whether a transmit power of the terminal device reaches a maximum value or a difference between the transmit power of the terminal device and the maximum value is less than or equal to a threshold in response to the terminal device sending a preamble the last time, whether a conflict is detected, whether cell or beam quality is higher than a threshold, whether a two-step random access procedure is rolled back to a four-step random access procedure, and uplink carrier information (figures 1F; paragraphs ]0011], [0193]-[0195]). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the
claimed invention to adapt information random access procedure of Kim et al. to the method of Fang for more efficient handoff.
Claim(s) 8 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fang in view of Vivo ("Discussion on the RLF and HOF for DAPS", 3GPP DRAFT; R2-1909775, 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (8GPP), MOBILE COMPETENCE CENTRE; 650, ROUTE DES LUCIOLES; F-06921 SOPHIA-ANTIPOLIS CEDEX; FRANCE, vol. RAN WG2, no. Prague, Czech Republic; 20190826 - 20190830 16 August 2019, pages 1-8, XP051767570).
Regarding claims 8 and 18, Fang discloses the method according to claims 1 and 13, respectively above. Fang does not explicitly disclose wherein the first report further includes handover type information, and the handover type information indicates any handover type of common handover, dual active protocol stack DAPS handover, the conditional handover, or a combination of the DAPS handover and the conditional handover. However, Vivo discloses a communication method comprising detecting that a connection between the terminal device and the source network device fails (see page 7, section 2.1: "Figure 1: DAPS handover stages Stage 1: After the reception of the handover command, the UE keeps the source connection and starts the cell searching and the RACH procedure to the target cell..", pages 2-3, section 2.2.2. Source connection RLF: “Proposal 5: If the UE detects the source connection RLF, the UE reports the source connection RLF to the target cell if the target connection does not declare the RLF/HOF..."; pages 6-7, section 5.3.11.3 Detection of radio connection failure: "The UE shall: store the following radio connection failure information in the VarRLF- Report by setting its fields as follows: ... 3> set the failedPCellld ... to the physical cell identity and carrier frequency of the PCell where radio connection failure is detected"); wherein the first report comprises indication information, and wherein the first report includes handover type information, and the handover type information indicates any handover type of common handover, dual active protocol stack DAPS handover, the conditional handover, or a combination of the DAPS handover and the conditional handover (sections 2.1-2.3). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to adapt the first report including handover type information, and the handover type information indicates any handover type of common handover, dual active protocol stack DAPS handover, the conditional handover, or a combination of the DAPS handover and the conditional handover of Vivo to the first report of Fang to analyze the report with specific type of handover.
Claim(s) 26, 27 and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fang in view of Zhang et al. (US 2013/0178204 A1).
Regarding claims 26, 27 and 29, Fang discloses the method and apparatus according to claims 1, 13 and 21, respectively above. Fang does not explicitly disclose wherein the first report includes a flag indicating the connection between the terminal device and the source network device failed before the terminal device accessed the target network device. However, Zhang et al. disclose a report includes a flag indicating the connection between the terminal device and the source network device failed before the terminal device accessed the target network device (paragraphs [0032] and [0033]). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to adapt the flag of Hwang et al. to the indication information report of Fang as a system design preference for serving the same function as providing indication information.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 9 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding claim 9, Fang discloses wherein the method of claim 1. However, Fang fails to disclose the method above further comprises: receiving third indication information from the source network device, wherein the third indication information indicates whether the first report is recorded; and wherein before the receiving third indication information, further includes: sending capability information to the source network device, wherein the capability information indicates that the terminal device supports recording the first report in a DAPS scenario.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ramachandran et al. (US 9,451,641 B2) disclose methods and apparatus for wireless communications by a UE including determining, while the UE is in a coverage area of a first network, that a connection to a second network, comprising a packet data network (PDN), is disconnected locally, and taking at least one action to avoid a rejection of a request to connect to the second network.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QUOCHIEN B VUONG whose telephone number is (571)272-7902. The examiner can normally be reached 10:00-06:00PM M-F.
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/QUOCHIEN B VUONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645