DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This is final action for application number 18/040,833 in response to an amendment filed on 11/15/2026; the original application was filed on 06/27/2023.
Claims 42, 43, 46, 48, 73 and 74 are currently pending and have been considered below.
Claims 1-41, 44, 45, 47 and 49-56 have been cancelled.
Claims 57-72 are withdrawn from consideration.
Claims 73 and 74 are new.
Claims 42 and 73 are an independent claim.
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ arguments with respect to claims 42, 43, 46, 48, 73 and 74 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
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.
Claims 42, 43, 46, 48, 73 and 74 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu et al. (US 2019/0268815 A1) in view of Kousaridas et al. (US 2022/0263750 A1).
Regarding claims 42 and 73, a method performed by an anchor NodeB, the method comprising:
receiving a data packet from a core network, [for downlink data, a UPF may bi-cast PDUs to both the source base station and the target base station with corresponding PDUs having the same SN, (Zhu et al., Paragraph 40)],
and assigning a sequence number for the data packet, [The source base station and the target base station may generate the same SN for the payload of the received PDUs and may forward the PDUs having the same PDCP SN, (Zhu et al., Paragraph 40)],
wherein the sequence number comprises Package Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Sequence number (SN) or PDCP count value, [wherein the at least one corresponding SN is at least one of a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) SN, a general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) user data (GTP-U) PDU SN, or a flow specific sequence number, wherein the corresponding SN is generated by the source base station and the target base station based on the PDCP SN, (Zhu et al., Paragraph 142)],
Zhu et al. fails to explicitly teach that the anchor NodeB provides sequence numbers for served base stations,
Kousaridas et al. teaches that each received data packet of the first set of data packets that includes the packet information is provided to at least one of a target communication device or a further network entity based on the mapped uplink sequence number to the downlink sequence number, (Kousaridas et al., Paragraphs 90-92, Figure 3),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to modify Zhu et al. by including that the anchor NodeB provides sequence numbers for served base stations, (Kousaridas et al., Paragraphs 90-92), in order to efficiently and reliably communicate data packets, (Kousaridas et al., Paragraph 5).
Regarding claims 43 and 74, the method of Claim 42, further comprising: transmitting the sequence number of the data packet to a first NodeB, that is a served base station of the anchor NodeB, [transmitting, via the second radio, a second PDU to the target base station, wherein the first PDU and the second PDU have a same sequence number (SN), (Zhu et al., Paragraph 148)].
Regarding claim 46, the method of claim 42, further comprising:
transmitting an anchor indication message to the first NodeB, [handover in wireless communications including establishing a tunnel between the UPF and a target base station based on information in a path switch preparation request for a make before break handover of a user equipment (UE) from a source base station to the target base station, (Zhu et al., Paragraph 7)],
receiving a message requiring multicast and broadcast services (MBS) from the first NodeB, [the base stations 102 may perform one or more of the following functions: multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), (Zhu et al., Paragraph 52)],
and transmitting a request message to the first NodeB including packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) configuration, [stablishing a tunnel between the UPF and a target base station based on information in a path switch preparation request for a make before break handover of a user equipment (UE) from a source base station to the target base station, the path switch preparation request being received in response to a request originating by the target base station, (Zhu et al., Paragraph 136)].
Regarding claim 48, the method of claim 42, wherein the sequence number of the data packet is determined based on General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol User plane (GTP-U) serial number or synchronization information in sync protocol or a new SN assigned by core network, [PDUs are received from the UPF 420 with each received PDU having a GTP-U SN, (Zhu et al., Paragraph 64)].
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 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Shukri Taha whose telephone number is 571-270-1921. The examiner can normally be reached on from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Joseph Avelino can be reached on 571-272-3905.
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/SHUKRI TAHA/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478