DETAILED ACTION
The following is a final office action in response to applicant’s remarks/arguments 10/20/2025 for
response of the office action mailed on 5/19/2025. Claims 3-4, 12, and 17 have been canceled. Claims 1, 5, 8, 11, 14-16, and 18 have been amended. Claims 1-2, 5-11, 13-16, and 18-20 remain pending in the application.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor
to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed on 10/20/2025 has been entered.
Applicant’s amendments to the Claims have overcome each and every objection previously set forth in
the Non-Final Rejection mailed on 5/19/2025.
Response to Remarks/Arguments
Applicant’s remarks/arguments (page 7-9), filed on 10/20/2025, with respect to claim 1 have been
fully considered but are not persuasive.
Regarding remarks in page 8 for independent claim 1, applicant argues that He does not indicate in paragraph [0074] how the UE indicates its paging probability in UPAI. He certainly does not indicate that a UE indicates its paging probability by identifying "a paging probability group within a set of predefined paging probability groups", as recited in claim 1. Furthermore, although He indicates that an AMF may assign a UE to a paging subgroup based on the UE's paging probability, He does not teach or imply that the UE may be assigned to a paging subgroup based on the UE's indication of a paging probability group within a set of predefined paging probability groups, as recited in claim 1.
Examiner respectfully disagrees with the applicant. HE et al. (US 2023/0007622 Al) discloses (paging subgroup of the UE may be determined based on UE Paging Assistance Information (UPAI). The UPAI of the UE may include information relevant to the determination of the paging subgroup of the UE, such as expected paging probability, mobility status, power status, etc. That is, the UPAI may include attributes such as the paging probability of the UE which may indicate the probability of the UE receiving a paging message, the mobility status and/or profile of the UE which may indicate whether the UE is stationary or mobile, the power status and/or profile of the UE which may indicate whether the UE is power sensitive or insensitive. The UPAI of the UE may include information relevant to the determination of the paging subgroup of the UE. UE may include UPAI in the registration request message transmitted to the AMF of the core network including the AMF, He: [0074]-[0075], [0128]) and (paging subgroup of the UE may be determined based on UE Paging Assistance Information (UPAI). the core network or the base station may assign different paging subgroups to the UE or change paging subgroups of the UE depending on the paging probability of the UE. the UE may be included in a subgroup with other UEs that may share a similar expected paging probability, mobile status, or power status. The UPAI of the UE may include information relevant to the determination of the paging subgroup of the UE, such as expected paging probability, mobility status, power status, etc. core network including AMF may assign the paging subgroups based on the UE characteristics (e.g. paging probability). a plurality of UEs may be assigned with a mixture of first paging subgroups assigned by the core network and second paging subgroups derived based on the UE identifier (UE-ID), He: [0074]-[0076], [0082], [0094]-[0095]).
Claim Objections
5. Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 13, in line 1, “The UE of claim 12,” should be replaced by “The UE of claim 11,”
Appropriate corrections are required.
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 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2, 5-8, 11, 14-16, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by
HE et al. (US 2023/0007622 Al, hereinafter “He”).
Regarding claim 1, He discloses:
A method of wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising (a method of wireless communication. The communication diagram may include a UE, He: [0072]):
transmitting a UE capability message, the UE capability message including paging subgroup assignment capability information (the UE may transmit a registration request message to the AMF. UE may transmit, to the network, an indication of UE capability indicating whether the UE supports the subgrouping assignment by the network, He: [0073], [0102]-[0103]) and
paging subgrouping assistance information (PSAI), the PSAI including paging probability information (paging subgroup of the UE may be determined based on UE Paging Assistance Information (UPAI). The UPAI of the UE may include information relevant to the determination of the paging subgroup of the UE, such as expected paging probability, mobility status, power status, etc. That is, the UPAI may include attributes such as the paging probability of the UE which may indicate the probability of the UE receiving a paging message, the mobility status and/or profile of the UE which may indicate whether the UE is stationary or mobile, the power status and/or profile of the UE which may indicate whether the UE is power sensitive or insensitive. The UPAI of the UE may include information relevant to the determination of the paging subgroup of the UE. UE may include UPAI in the registration request message transmitted to the AMF of the core network including the AMF, He: [0074]-[0075], [0128]),
the paging probability information identifying a paging probability group within a set of predefined paging probability groups, the paging probability group identifying a group of UEs having a paging probability similar to a paging probability of the UE (paging subgroup of the UE may be determined based on UE Paging Assistance Information (UPAI). the core network or the base station may assign different paging subgroups to the UE or change paging subgroups of the UE depending on the paging probability of the UE. the UE may be included in a subgroup with other UEs that may share a similar expected paging probability, mobile status, or power status. The UPAI of the UE may include information relevant to the determination of the paging subgroup of the UE, such as expected paging probability, mobility status, power status, etc. core network including AMF may assign the paging subgroups based on the UE characteristics (e.g. paging probability). a plurality of UEs may be assigned with a mixture of first paging subgroups assigned by the core network and second paging subgroups derived based on the UE identifier (UE-ID), He: [0074]-[0076], [0082], [0094]-[0095]);
receiving paging subgroup assignment information based at least in part on the UE capability message, the paging subgroup assignment information including an assignment of the UE to a paging subgroup (UE may receive the subgroup ID of the UE in the registration accept message received from the AMF of the core network including the AMF, He: [0090]); and
monitoring for a paging occasion associated with the paging subgroup assigned to the UE, in a 5G mobility management (5GMM) IDLE mode or a 5GMM_CONNECTED mode with radio resource control (RRC)_INACTIVE indication (UEs in RRC idle/inactive mode may periodically (or aperiodically) wake up to receive paging messages from the base station, and the base station may transmit the paging messages to the UEs in the RRC idle/inactive mode. UE may then monitor for the paging message from the base station in response to the associated paging indication received in the PO, He: [0068]-[0069]).
Regarding claim 2, He teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above.
He further discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein the paging subgroup assignment capability information comprises at least one of (UE supports the subgrouping assignment by the network, He: [0103]):
a first indication of support for paging subgrouping assistance information (PSAI) (the paging subgroup of the UE may be determined based on UE Paging Assistance Information (UPAI), He: [0074]);
a second indication of support for core network (CN)-assigned paging subgrouping (CNSG) allocated by an access and mobility management function (AMF) (core network including the AMF may configure a set of candidate subgroups associated with the UE, He: [0006]-[0009]); or
a third indication of support for user equipment identity (UEID)-based paging subgrouping (UEIDSG) based on a temporary identifier for the UE within a next-generation radio access network (NG-RAN) (UE may initiate an update of the paging subgroup identifier (ID) assigned to the UE by transmitting paging assistance information to the AMF, He: [0005]).
Regarding claim 5, He teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 3 above.
He further discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein the PSAI comprises a power profile of the UE, the power profile including at least one of: a type of the UE, an expected battery duration of the UE, or an available power budget of the UE (The paging assistance information may include at least one of a paging probability, a mobility profile, or a power profile of the UE. the paging subgroup of the UE may be determined based on UE Paging Assistance Information (UPAI). The UPAI of the UE may include information relevant to the determination of the paging subgroup of theUE, such as expected paging probability, mobility status, power status, etc. UPAI may include attributes such as the paging probability of the UE which may indicate whether the UE is power sensitive or insensitive, He: [0005], [0074]).
Regarding claim 6, He teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above.
He further discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein:
the UE capability message is transmitted as part of a REGISTRATION REQUEST message, the REGISTRATION REQUEST message transmitted during an initial registration of the UE to an access and mobility management function (AMF) or during a mobility and periodic registration update (MRU) (UE 402 may initiate a registration process to request the core network including the AMF of the paging subgroup of the UE, and the paging subgroup of the UE may initially be assigned by the AMF during registration procedure. UE may transmit a registration request message to the AMF and through the registration process, the AMF may assign the paging subgroup of the UE. UE may perform a registration update procedure with the AMF to submit the new UPAI, He: [0073], [0077]); and
the paging subgroup assignment information is received in a REGISTRATION ACCEPT message (AMF may transmit, to the UE, the registration accept message including the updated paging subgroup, and the UE may receive, from the AMF, the registration accept message including the updated paging subgroup, He: [0078]).
Regarding claim 7, He teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above.
He further discloses:
The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving a radio access network (RAN) capability message indicating a support for paging subgroup assignments (UE may receive the subgroup ID of the UE in the registration accept message received from the AMF of the core network including the AMF, He: [0090]); wherein,
the paging subgroup assignment capability information is included in the UE capability message in response to receiving, in the RAN capability message, an indication of support for paging subgroup assignments (communication manager includes a paging subgroup managing component that is configured to perform an initial paging subgroup assignment of the UE with the base station and the AMF, transmit an indication of UE capability indicating whether the UE supports the subgrouping assignment by the network, transmit a paging assistance information, He: [0183]).
Regarding claim 8, He teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above.
He further discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein, in the 5GMM_IDLE mode or the 5GMM_CONNECTED mode with RRC_INACTIVE indication, the paging occasion occurs comparatively less frequently for the UE, as a member of the paging subgroup, than a second paging occasion occurs for a second UE with no paging subgroup assignment (UE in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state may be monitoring the paging occasions associated with the paging subgroup of the UE to receive paging messages from the AMF of the core network via the base station. UE may monitor paging channel using the paging subgroup ID based on the UE receiving an assignment of the paging subgroup ID and the paging subgroup ID being less than the number of the subgroups indicated in the system information, He: [0081], [0121]).
Regarding claim 11, He discloses:
An apparatus, comprising memory coupled to a processor, the processor configured to (hardware implementation for an example apparatus. controller/processor can be associated with a memory, He: Fig. 3, [0028], [0062):
transmit a UE capability message via the transceiver, the UE capability message including paging subgroup assignment capability information (the UE may transmit a registration request message to the AMF. UE may transmit, to the network, an indication of UE capability indicating whether the UE supports the subgrouping assignment by the network, He: [0073], [0102]-[0103]) and
paging subgrouping assistance information (PSAI), the PSAI including paging probability information (paging subgroup of the UE may be determined based on UE Paging Assistance Information (UPAI). The UPAI of the UE may include information relevant to the determination of the paging subgroup of the UE, such as expected paging probability, mobility status, power status, etc. That is, the UPAI may include attributes such as the paging probability of the UE which may indicate the probability of the UE receiving a paging message, the mobility status and/or profile of the UE which may indicate whether the UE is stationary or mobile, the power status and/or profile of the UE which may indicate whether the UE is power sensitive or insensitive. The UPAI of the UE may include information relevant to the determination of the paging subgroup of the UE. UE may include UPAI in the registration request message transmitted to the AMF of the core network including the AMF, He: [0074]-[0075], [0128]),
the paging probability information identifying a paging probability group within a set of predefined paging probability groups, the paging probability group identifying a group of UEs having a paging probability similar to a paging probability of the UE (paging subgroup of the UE may be determined based on UE Paging Assistance Information (UPAI). the core network or the base station may assign different paging subgroups to the UE or change paging subgroups of the UE depending on the paging probability of the UE. the UE may be included in a subgroup with other UEs that may share a similar expected paging probability, mobile status, or power status. The UPAI of the UE may include information relevant to the determination of the paging subgroup of the UE, such as expected paging probability, mobility status, power status, etc. core network including AMF may assign the paging subgroups based on the UE characteristics (e.g. paging probability). a plurality of UEs may be assigned with a mixture of first paging subgroups assigned by the core network and second paging subgroups derived based on the UE identifier (UE-ID), He: [0074]-[0076], [0082], [0094]-[0095]);
receive paging subgroup assignment information based at least in part on the UE capability message, the paging subgroup assignment information including an assignment of the UE to a paging subgroup (UE may receive the subgroup ID of the UE in the registration accept message received from the AMF of the core network including the AMF, He: [0090]); and
monitor for a paging occasion associated with the paging subgroup assigned to the UE, in a 5G mobility management (5GMM) IDLE mode or a 5GMM_CONNECTED mode with radio resource control (RRC)_INACTIVE indication (UEs in RRC idle/inactive mode may periodically (or aperiodically) wake up to receive paging messages from the base station, and the base station may transmit the paging messages to the UEs in the RRC idle/inactive mode. UE may then monitor for the paging message from the base station in response to the associated paging indication received in the PO, He: [0068]-[0069]).
Regarding claim 14, He discloses:
A method of communication by a core network (CN), comprising (core network including an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), He: [0005]):
receiving, from a user equipment (UE) as part of a REGISTRATION REQUEST message, a UE capability message, the UE capability message including paging subgroup assignment capability information (AMF may receive the registration request message from the UE. AMF may perform an initial paging subgroup assignment of the UE. UE may transmit, to the network, an indication of UE capability indicating whether the UE supports the subgrouping assignment by the network, He: [0090], [0102]-[0103]) and
paging subgrouping assistance information (PSAI), the PSAI including paging probability information (paging subgroup of the UE may be determined based on UE Paging Assistance Information (UPAI). The UPAI of the UE may include information relevant to the determination of the paging subgroup of the UE, such as expected paging probability, mobility status, power status, etc. That is, the UPAI may include attributes such as the paging probability of the UE which may indicate the probability of the UE receiving a paging message, the mobility status and/or profile of the UE which may indicate whether the UE is stationary or mobile, the power status and/or profile of the UE which may indicate whether the UE is power sensitive or insensitive. The UPAI of the UE may include information relevant to the determination of the paging subgroup of the UE. UE may include UPAI in the registration request message transmitted to the AMF of the core network including the AMF, He: [0074]-[0075], [0128]),
the paging probability information identifying a paging probability group within a set of predefined paging probability groups, the paging probability group identifying a group of UEs having a paging probability similar to a paging probability of the UE (paging subgroup of the UE may be determined based on UE Paging Assistance Information (UPAI). the core network or the base station may assign different paging subgroups to the UE or change paging subgroups of the UE depending on the paging probability of the UE. the UE may be included in a subgroup with other UEs that may share a similar expected paging probability, mobile status, or power status. The UPAI of the UE may include information relevant to the determination of the paging subgroup of the UE, such as expected paging probability, mobility status, power status, etc. core network including AMF may assign the paging subgroups based on the UE characteristics (e.g. paging probability). a plurality of UEs may be assigned with a mixture of first paging subgroups assigned by the core network and second paging subgroups derived based on the UE identifier (UE-ID), He: [0074]-[0076], [0082], [0094]-[0095]);
assigning the UE to a paging subgroup, based at least in part on the UE capability message (UE may receive the subgroup ID of the UE in the registration accept message received from the AMF of the core network including the AMF, He: [0090]);
storing paging subgroup assignment information for the UE in UE context at the CN, the paging subgroup assignment information including the assignment of the UE to the paging subgroup (AMF of the core network may include a paging subgroup managing component configured to receive paging assistance information for a first UE, transmit a subgroup ID to the UE determined based on the paging assistance information, and transmit, to a base station, a message including a subgroup ID of the first UE. core network including the AMF may determine to transmit a paging message to the UE associated with the updated paging subgroup, He: [0050], [0087]-[0089]); and
transmitting to the UE, as part of a REGISTRATION ACCEPT message, the paging subgroup assignment information (AMF may return, to the base station, the UE's subgroup ID in a registration accept message transmitted in response to the registration request message, He: [0090]-[0091]).
Regarding claim 15, He teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 14 above.
He further discloses:
The method of claim 14, wherein the paging subgroup assignment capability information comprises at least one of (UE supports the subgrouping assignment by the network, He: [0103]):
a first indication of support for paging subgrouping assistance information (PSAI)) (the paging subgroup of the UE may be determined based on UE Paging Assistance Information (UPAI), He: [0074]);
a second indication of support for core network (CN)-assigned paging subgrouping (CNSG) (core network including the AMF may configure a set of candidate subgroups associated with the UE, He: [0006]-[0009]); or
a third indication of support for user equipment identity (UEID)-based paging subgrouping (UEIDSG) (UE may initiate an update of the paging subgroup identifier (ID) assigned to the UE by transmitting paging assistance information to the AMF, He: [0005]).
Regarding claim 16, He teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 14 above.
He further discloses:
The method of claim 14, further comprising:
transmitting, to a base station in communication with the UE, a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message including the assignment of the UE to the paging subgroup (AMF may transmit, to a base station, a UE context setup message including the updated paging subgroup ID of the UE based on the RRC state change for the UE. In one aspect, the UE context modification message may include a set of candidate subgroups associated with the RRC state change, He: [0169], [0175]).
Regarding claim 18, He teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 14 above.
He further discloses:
The method of claim 14, wherein the PSAI comprises a power profile of the UE, the power profile including at least one of: a type of the UE, an expected battery duration of the UE, or an available power budget of the UE (The paging assistance information may include at least one of a paging probability, a mobility profile, or a power profile of the UE. the paging subgroup of the UE may be determined based on UE Paging Assistance Information (UPAI). The UPAI of the UE may include information relevant to the determination of the paging subgroup of theUE, such as expected paging probability, mobility status, power status, etc. UPAI may include attributes such as the paging probability of the UE which may indicate whether the UE is power sensitive or insensitive, He: [0005], [0074]).
Regarding claim 19, He teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 14 above.
He further discloses:
The method of claim 14, further comprising:
determining the UE has not acknowledged receipt of the paging subgroup assignment information (base station may determine to release the UE into RRC inactive state. When the base station is about to release the UE into the RRC inactive state and determine that the current paging subgroup of the UE may no longer be optimal for the new RRC state. Here, the releasing of the RRC connection with the UE to the RRC inactive state is not notified to the AMF until receiving an RRC inactive transition report from the base station, He: Fig. 11, [0163]); and
transmitting to the UE, in response to determining the UE has not acknowledged receipt of the paging subgroup assignment information, new paging subgroup assignment information (base station may update the paging subgroup of the UE based on releasing the RRC connection between the UE and the base station to the RRC inactive state, He: Fig. 12, [0164]-[0177]).
Regarding claim 20, He teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 14 above.
He further discloses:
The method of claim 14, further comprising:
determining the UE has not acknowledged receipt of the paging subgroup assignment information (base station may determine to release the UE into RRC inactive state. When the base station is about to release the UE into the RRC inactive state and determine that the current paging subgroup of the UE may no longer be optimal for the new RRC state. Here, the releasing of the RRC connection with the UE to the RRC inactive state is not notified to the AMF until receiving an RRC inactive transition report from the base station, He: Fig. 11, [0163]); and
transmitting to the UE, in response to determining the UE has not acknowledged receipt of the paging subgroup assignment information, a request for the UE to initiate a registration procedure (AMF may perform an initial paging subgroup assignment of the UE with the UE and the base station. The UE may transmit the registration request message to the AMF, and the AMF may receive the registration request message from the UE, He: Fig. 12, [0164]-[0177]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 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 of this title, 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.
Claims 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over He in view of Youn et al.
(US 2020/0145953 Al, hereinafter “Youn”).
Regarding claim 9, He teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above.
He further discloses:
The method of claim 1, further comprising:
after receiving the paging subgroup assignment information (UE may receive the subgroup ID of the UE in the registration accept message received from the AMF of the core network including the AMF, He: [0090]),
receiving, from an access and mobility management function (AMF), base station may receive, from the core network including AMF, the UE context modification message including the indication of at least one subgroup ID for the UE based on the RRC state change for the UE. core network including the AMF may determine to transmit a paging message to the UE associated with the updated paging subgroup, He: [0152]-[0157]);
configuring the UE, responsive to the CONFIGURATION UPDATE COMMAND message, to monitor the paging occasion (UE may determine whether to monitor the PO to receive the paging message based on the paging subgroup indication received in at least one of thePEI or the paging DCI from the network, He: [0069]); and
He does not explicitly disclose:
receiving
transmitting, to the AMF, a CONFIGURATION UPDATE COMPLETE message.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Youn teaches:
receivingThe AMF may transmit, to the UE, a UE configuration update command including a UE parameter(s). After the UE receives the UE configuration update command, the update of a specific parameter may trigger a registration update procedure by the UE, Youn: [0472], [0499])
transmitting, to the AMF, a CONFIGURATION UPDATE COMPLETE message (UE transmits a UE configuration update complete message to the AMF, Youn: [0498]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify He in view of Youn in order to further modify receiving a CONFIGURATION UPDATE COMMAND message and transmitting a CONFIGURATION UPDATE COMPLETE message from the teachings of Youn.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it can provide much more improved data transmission capability, and so on (Youn: [0027]).
Regarding claim 10, He teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above.
He further discloses:
The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving, from an access and mobility management function (AMF) of a core network (CN), AMF may perform an initial paging subgroup assignment of the UE with the UE and the base station. The UE may transmit the registration request message to the AMF, and the AMF may receive the registration request message from the UE, He: Fig. 12, [0164]-[0177]);
He does not explicitly disclose:
receiving,
However, in the same field of endeavor, Youn teaches:
receiving, The AMF may transmit, to the UE, a UE configuration update command including a UE parameter(s). After the UE receives the UE configuration update command, the update of a specific parameter may trigger a registration update procedure by the UE, Youn: [0472], [0499])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify He in view of Youn in order to further modify receiving a CONFIGURATION UPDATE COMMAND message from the teachings of Youn.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it can provide much more improved data transmission capability, and so on (Youn: [0027]).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over He in view of 3GPP TSG-RAN
WG2 Meeting #114, R2-2106666 (May 19 – May 27, 2021), (Report of [AT114-e][025][ePowSav] Subgrouping network architecture, hereafter “3GPP”).
Regarding claim 13, He teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 11 above.
He does not explicitly disclose:
The UE of claim 11, wherein the PSAI is transmitted in an information element (IE) having a first set of bits indicating a type of PSAI, and a second set of bits indicating a value for the type of PSAI.
However, in the same field of endeavor, 3GPP teaches:
wherein the PSAI is transmitted in an information element (IE) having a first set of bits indicating a type of PSAI, and a second set of bits indicating a value for the type of PSAI (if RAN is to assign number of bits for subgrouping of different subset/type of UEs, assistant information could be provided from CN to RAN based on number of UEs, paging probability etc. for RAN to decide the bits split, 3GPP: Page 19).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify He in view of 3GPP in order to further modify the PSAI having a first set of bits and a second set of bits from the teachings of 3GPP.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because UE paging subgroups are assigned by the network based on UE characteristics (3GPP: Page 2, Paragraph 2.1]).
Conclusion
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.
In the case of amendments, applicant is respectfully requested to indicate the portion(s) of the specification which dictate(s) the structure relied on for proper interpretation and support, for ascertaining the metes and bounds of the claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be
directed to SANG C LEE whose telephone number is (703)756-1461. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00AM-5:00PM 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, HASSAN PHILLIPS can be reached on (571)272-3940. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/S.C.L./Examiner, Art Unit 2467
/MICHAEL J MOORE JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2467