DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to RCE filed on 7/1/2026.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 7/1/2026 has been entered.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for domestic benefit/national stage under 35 U.S.C. 119(e), 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) for parent Application Nos
63/349,479 filed on 6/6/2022.
63/421,119 filed on 10/31/2022
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 5/6/2026, 7/17/2026, 8/17/2026, and 9/28/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) are being considered by the examiner.
Response to Amendment
Claims 1-20 were pending for examination in previous Office Action mailed 4/1/2026.
New Claims 21-24 have been added.
Claims 1-24 remain pending for examination.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicant’s remarks pg. 1-3, filed 7/1/2025, with respect to Claim(s) 1, 15, and 20 have been fully considered but are not persuasive.
In response to Applicant’s arguments that in substance the prior art of record does not disclose “structural features, or any other specified triggers, for binding a framework associated with a secondary SIM to a carrier application,” Examiner respectfully disagrees.
In the instant application ¶43, Applicant defines “binding” as “[referring] to launching the carrier application and connecting to a service running within the carrier application…[where] from that point onwards, the framework is able to invoke the API’s that are exposed by the service.”
Again, Moon et al. (US 20210250430 A1; hereinafter Moon) was relied upon to disclose that a UE may access a wireless communication network and may use a voice communication or data communication service through an appropriate authentication process using a universal subscriber identity module (USIM) installed on a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) which may also be referred to as a subscriber identity module (SIM) card and that an electronic device may support two or more SIMs (¶3-6; ¶ 109-112; Fig. 1B; Fig. 2). Moon further clarifies in ¶198 that even though network communication connection to a specific SIM is not made due to failure to search for a PLMN, search for a cell, camp on a cell, or make an RRC connection to a specific cell, it may be said that the SIM is enabled if a procedure for network communication connection to the corresponding SIM is being performed.
Therefore, the prior art of record still discloses the claimed invention of the independent claims, and the prior art rejection is maintained. Please see previous office action mailed and altered as required by the amendments.
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 1-4, 6-7, 10, 12-13, and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moon et al. (US 2021/0250430 A1; hereinafter Moon) and further in view of Jing et al. (CN 111970686 A; hereinafter Jing; references cited in machine translation and figures in original FOR document).
Regarding Claim 1, Moon discloses:
A non-transitory computer-readable medium of a dual subscriber identity module (SIM) dual standby (DSDS)-enabled device storing a computer program, the computer program configured to cause at least one processor to: [Moon discloses an electronic device capable of DSDS with memory storing a program and a processor which may execute a program (¶86-89; ¶107; Fig. 1A)]
detect that a carrier network associated with a secondary SIM is available; [Moon discloses that a UE may access a wireless communication network and may use a voice communication or data communication service through an appropriate authentication process using a universal subscriber identity module (USIM) installed on a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) which may also be referred to as a subscriber identity module (SIM) card and that an electronic device may support two or more SIMs (¶3-6; ¶ 109-112; Fig. 1B; Fig. 2)]
after the detection that the carrier network associated with a secondary SIM is available, bind a framework associated with the secondary SIM to a carrier application that provides a carrier configuration service, based on the detection; and [Moon discloses that a UE may access a wireless communication network and may use a voice communication or data communication service through an appropriate authentication process using a universal subscriber identity module (USIM) installed on a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) which may also be referred to as a subscriber identity module (SIM) card and that an electronic device may support two or more SIMs (¶3-6; ¶ 109-112; ¶162; Fig. 1B; Fig. 2). Moon further discloses that even though network communication connection to a specific SIM is not made due to failure to search for a PLMN, search for a cell, camp on a cell, or make an RRC connection to a specific cell, it may be said that the SIM is enabled if a procedure for network communication connection to the corresponding SIM is being performed (¶198).]
configure the secondary SIM via the carrier application, wherein [Moon discloses a subscription manager discovery service (SM-DS) server, a subscription manager data preparation plus (SM-DP+) server, a mobile network operator (MNO) server, and a communication service server and that the eSIM may download/store information necessary for communication service provision where the first information necessary for downloading data including the first subscriber identity information (first operational profile) where the communication session information may include SM-DS server access information; Moon further discloses that the SM-DS server may provide the SM-DP+ server address from which the operational profile can be downloaded based on the provisioning profile (¶110; ¶ 117-124; Fig. 1B; Fig. 2)]
the configuration of the secondary SIM comprises grouping subscriptions of a primary SIM and the secondary SIM [Moon discloses two operational profiles where the first operational profile is for a first subscriber identity information and the second operational profile is for a second subscriber identity information. Moon further discloses multiple SIMS grouped together within a SIM card manager each with a profile (¶233; ¶ 114-115; ¶252-254; Fig. 13D)]
Moon does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the configuration of the secondary SIM comprises grouping subscriptions of a primary SIM and the secondary SIM and making the secondary SIM opportunistic.
However Jing, analogous art also teaching DSDS technology, does disclose:
wherein the configuration of the secondary SIM comprises grouping subscriptions of a primary SIM and the secondary SIM and making the secondary SIM opportunistic. [Jing discloses radio sharing and that the UE can trigger the opportunistic scanning on SIM2 (¶79-87)]
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the communication system of Moon with that of Jing such that SIM2 is made to be opportunistic in order to allow for the data traffic of SIM1 according to priority, as per Jing (¶84-85), with reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding Claim 2, Moon and Jing disclose:
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein
the DSDS device comprises the primary SIM, and [Moon discloses a dual-SIM dual-standby (DSDS) device may support two or more SIMs which may either be physical (pSIM/rSIM) or embedded (eSIM) (¶3-6; ¶108; ¶111; Fig. 1B)]
the primary SIM and the secondary SIM are both physical SIMs (pSIMs), the primary SIM and the secondary SIM are both embedded SIMs (eSIMs), or one of the primary SIM and the secondary SIM is a pSIM and the other of the primary SIM and the secondary SIM is an eSIM. [Moon discloses a dual-SIM dual-standby (DSDS) device may support two or more SIMs which may either be physical (pSIM/rSIM) or embedded (eSIM) (¶3-6; ¶108; ¶111; Fig. 1B)]
Regarding Claim 3, Moon and Jing discloses:
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 2, wherein the primary SIM is used for voice traffic and Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia subsystem (IMS) traffic, and
the secondary SIM is used for data traffic. [Jing discloses that different SIMs may have different availability in voice and data communication such that the primary SIM is available for voice communication while the secondary SIM is available for data communication (¶73-75)]
Regarding Claim 4, Moon and Jing discloses:
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the at least one processor to:
display a single SIM icon, a single network signal indicator, or both, for both the primary SIM and the secondary SIM. [Moon discloses that the device may have a display which may include a screen associated with the first communication based on the provisioning profile or the second communication based on the second operational profile where the first operational profile is for a first subscriber identity information and the second operational profile is for a second subscriber identity information (¶9; ¶114-115; ¶144; Fig. 1A item 160). Moon also discloses icons corresponding to the SIMs configured and an indicator of availability (¶ 206; Fig. 8B)]
Regarding Claim 6, Moon and Jing discloses:
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1
wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the at least one processor to: return a name of a brand and a carrier certificate array; and add access point names (APNs) for the brand. [Moon discloses that the device may display information associated with the SIM such as an own number, such as a mobile station international subscriber directory number (MSISDN), public land mobile network (PLMN) information, or supportable network communication types (¶ 206; Fig. 8B)]
Regarding Claim 7, Moon and Jing discloses:
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the secondary SIM is an embedded SIM (eSIM) and the computer program is further configured to cause the at least one processor to:
perform a DSDS configuration, comprising:
retrieving an activation code, [Moon discloses an activation code (¶304-306; Fig. 24)]
downloading the eSIM, and [Moon discloses downloading a first profile and eUICC (i.e. eSIM) (¶304-306; Fig. 24)]
making the eSIM preferred for data. [Mood discloses configuring eSIM as default (¶187)]
Regarding Claim 10, Moon and Jing disclose:
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the at least one processor to:
enable DSDS responsive to presence of an embedded universal integrated circuit card (eUICC). [Moon discloses that a UE may access a wireless communication network and may use a voice communication or data communication service through an appropriate authentication process using a universal subscriber identity module (USIM) installed on a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) which may also be referred to as a subscriber identity module (SIM) card and that an electronic device may support two or more SIMs (¶3-6; ¶ 109-112; Fig. 1B; Fig. 2)]
Regarding Claim 12, Moon and Jing discloses:
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein, responsive to a user removing the secondary SIM, the computer program is further configured to cause the at least one processor to:
detect a SIM state absent event for the secondary SIM; and [Moon discloses removable SIMs and detecting an event which may be for example deleting a configured profile (¶ 107; ¶ 171-172; Fig. 7B)]
disable the subscription of the secondary SIM. [Moon discloses disconnecting of network communication corresponding to SIM (¶ 171-172; ¶ 208; Fig. 7B)]
Regarding Claim 13, Moon and Jing discloses:
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein, responsive to a user reinserting the secondary SIM, the computer program is further configured to cause the at least one processor to:
detect a SIM state loaded event for the secondary SIM; [Moon discloses a detection of reception event using a second SIM (¶ 171-172; Fig. 6A-8B)]
enable the subscription of the secondary SIM; and [Moon discloses an enabled state of the SIM and enabling a profile configured in the SIM (¶ 171-172; ¶ 198; Fig. 7A/8B)]
make the secondary SIM a default for a data subscription. [Moon discloses that the first SIM and the second SIM may be configured as default SIMs for use (¶ 171; ¶ 187)]
Claim 5 and 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moon and Jing and further in view of Cho et al. (US 2015/0349824 A1; hereinafter Cho).
Regarding Claim 5, Moon and Jing fully disclose:
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 4.
Moon and Jing do not explicitly disclose:
wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the at least one processor to:
prevent a user of the DSDS device from accessing settings pertaining to the secondary SIM.
However Cho, analogous art also teaching DSDS technology, does disclose:
wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the at least one processor to:
prevent a user of the DSDS device from accessing settings pertaining to the secondary SIM. [Cho discloses pre-determined display rules which may determine whether or not SIM slot information may be shown (¶5; ¶19-22) ]
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the communication system of Moon and Jing with that of Cho such SIM information may be hidden in the case that SIM card inserted is in roaming status so as to not overcrowd the display screen, as per Cho (¶5), with reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding Claim 14, Moon and Jing discloses:
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein
the DSDS device comprises at least one additional SIM in addition to the primary SIM and the secondary SIM, [Moon discloses that an electronic device may support two or more SIMs (¶3-6; ¶21-23; ¶ 109-112; Fig. 1B; Fig. 2)]
Moon and Jing do not explicitly disclose:
the at least one additional SIM is not visible to a user via the DSDS device.
However Cho, analogous art also teaching DSDS technology, does disclose:
the at least one additional SIM is not visible to a user via the DSDS device. [Cho discloses pre-determined display rules which may determine whether or not SIM slot information may be shown (¶5; ¶19-22) ]
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the communication system of Moon and Jing with that of Cho such SIM information may be hidden in the case that SIM card inserted is in roaming status so as to not overcrowd the display screen, as per Cho (¶5), with reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding Claim 21, Moon and Jing fully disclose:
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the primary SIM comprises a physical SIM (pSIM) and the carrier application provides the carrier configuration service based on the primary SIM. [(See Moon ¶5-6; ¶107; ¶342-345)
[0005] The electronic device may support two SIMs or more. An electronic device supporting two SIMs may be referred to as a dual-SIM electronic device, and an electronic device supporting multiple SIMs may be referred to as a multi-SIM electronic device. A dual-SIM or multi-SIM electronic device may support multiple SIMs, each of which may be associated with a different subscription. A device having a single transceiver configured to transmit/receive signals associated with multiple SIMs may be referred to as a dual SIM dual standby (DSDS) device. In this case, when one of the SIMs transmits or receives signals, another SIM may remain in a standby mode. Alternatively, a device configured such that both SIMs can be simultaneously activated may be referred to as a dual SIM dual active (DSDA) device.
[0006] A dual-SIM electronic device is implemented to support two removable (e.g., detachable) subscriber identify modules or is implemented to support a single removable subscriber identity module and an embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM). The removable subscriber identity module may be hereinafter referred to as a removable SIM (rSIM), and the embedded subscriber identity module may be referred to as an eSIM. The rSIM may also be referred to as a physical SIM (pSIM).
[0107] According to various embodiments, the electronic device 101 may operate as a dual SIM dual standby (DSDS) or dual SIM dual active (DSDA) electronic device supporting two SIMs in a single device. For example, two SIMs, namely a first SIM 111 and a second SIM 112, may be mounted in the electronic device 101. The first SIM 111 and the second SIM 112 may be removable (e.g., detachable) rSIMs. For example, two SIM cards may be mounted in the electronic device 101 in order to support the two SIMs. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the term “SIM card” will be referred to as “SIM”. As illustrated in FIG. 1B, two SIM cards, namely the first SIM 111 and the second SIM 112 may be mounted in the electronic device 101. The electronic device 101 may include, therein, a first slot (not shown), which is a first structure, and a second slot (not shown) in order to receive the first SIM 111 and the second SIM 112, respectively.
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Regarding Claim 22, Moon and Jing fully disclose:
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the carrier application utilizes an application programming interface (API) of the carrier to make the secondary SIM a default for data subscription. [(See Moon ¶171; ¶187; ¶206; ¶342; Fig. 6C and 8B)
[0171] According to various embodiments, in operation 601, the electronic device 101 (e.g., at least one of the processor 120 or the communication processor 510) may control the state of the switch 560 to be a first state, thereby connecting at least one processor (e.g., the communication processor 510) to the second slot 540. For example, the electronic device 101 may connect the communication processor 510 to the second slot 540, based on detection of an event for using the second SIM 541. The event for using the second SIM 541 may be, for example, detection of reception of the second SIM 541 in the second slot 540, or a user command to use the second SIM 541, but as long as the event is an event requiring data transmission/reception between the second SIM 541 and the communication processor 510, the type thereof is not limited. Alternatively, the first SIM 531 and the second SIM 541 may be configured as default SIMs for use. In this case, the communication processor 510 may be connected to the second slot 540 without any particular control by the electronic device 101.
[0187] According to various embodiments, in operation 621, the electronic device 101 (e.g., at least one of the processor 120 or the communication processor 510) may control the state of the switch 560 to be a second state, thereby connecting at least one processor (e.g., the communication processor 510) to the eSIM 550. For example, the electronic device 101 may connect the communication processor 510 to the eSIM 550, based on the detection of an event for using the eSIM 550. The event for using the eSIM 550 may be a user command to use the eSIM 550, but as long as the event is an event requiring data transmission/reception between the eSIM 550 and the communication processor 510, the type thereof is not limited. The first SIM 531 and the eSIM 550 may be configured as default SIMs for use. In this case, the communication processor 510 may be connected to the eSIM 550 without any particular control by the electronic device 101.
[0342] According to various embodiments, when a mobile plan removal icon 3212 is selected on the screen 3210 in FIG. 32C, the processor 120 may determine that a request to delete all profiles currently installed in the electronic device 101 has been received. Before deleting all profiles, the processor 120 may determine, in operation 3113, whether connection with another data communication network (e.g., a communication network based on Wi-Fi or a physical SIM), which is different from a communication network based on the profile (e.g., the first profile), is established. As a result of the determination, when the communication connection with the another data communication network is not established, the processor 120 may display, as illustrated in FIG. 32D, a screen 3220 (e.g., a pop-up window) reporting that the connection with the another data communication network is needed. Referring to FIG. 32D, the screen 3220 may report that the connection with the another data communication network is needed in order to delete all profiles, and that in order to make a connection using a physical SIM, a SIM card needs to be inserted into a SIM slot and the corresponding physical SIM needs to be set as a preferred SIM to be connected. When a deletion approval icon 3221 is selected on the screen 3220 in FIG. 32D, the electronic device 101 may stand by for a network connection.
[0206] According to various embodiments, the screen 820a including SIM-related information may include a tab 821 corresponding to the first SIM 531, a tab 822 corresponding to the second SIM 541, and a tab 823 corresponding to a profile (e.g., eSIM 1) stored in the eSIM 550. The electronic device 101 may display information associated with the first SIM 531 (e.g., an own number (e.g., a mobile station international subscriber directory number (MSISDN)), PLMN information, or supportable network communication types) in the tab 821 corresponding to the first SIM 531. The electronic device 101 may also display, based on the enabled state of the first SIM 531, supportable network communication types to be visually distinguished from the tab 822 corresponding to a disabled SIM (e.g., the second SIM 541). A number “1” included in an icon in the tab 821 may correspond to, for example, the first slot 530, and a number “2” included in an icon in each of the tabs 822 and 823 may correspond to, for example, the second slot 540. However, these are merely examples, and the icons may be omitted. The electronic device 101 may display information associated with the second SIM 541 (e.g., an own number, PLMN information, or supportable network communication types) in the tab 822 corresponding to the second SIM 541. However, the electronic device 101 may also display, based on the disabled state of the second SIM 541, only the text “Off” in the tab 822 corresponding to the second SIM 541. The electronic device 101 may display information associated with the eSIM 550 (e.g., an own number, PLMN information, or supportable network communication types) in the tab 823 corresponding to the first profile. The electronic device 101 may display, based on the enabled state of the eSIM 550, supportable network communication types to be visually distinguished from the tab 822 corresponding to a disabled SIM (e.g., the second SIM 541). The electronic device 101 may display supportable network types (e.g., 5G/4G/3G/2G) for an enabled SIM (e.g., the first SIM 531 and the eSIM 550), and may display, for a disabled SIM (e.g., the second SIM 541), an indicator (e.g., the text “Off”) indicating the disabled state thereof, whereby a user can identify currently enabled/disabled SIMs. The screen 820a including SIM-related information may further include, depending on the implementation thereof, a tab 824 for adding a mobile plan, a call-related tab 825, a tab 826 related to text messages, a tab 827 related to mobile data, a tab 828 for confirming a SIM card for calls, a dual-SIM-always-on tab 829, a tab 830 for locking mobile plan settings, and a tab 831 for deleting all mobile plans, but is not limited thereto. A mobile plan may include a profile.
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Claim 8-9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moon and Jing and further in view of Lindoff et al. (US 2018/0084504 A1; hereinafter Lindoff).
Regarding Claim 8, Moon and Jing fully disclose:
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1.
Moon and Jing do not explicitly disclose:
wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the at least one processor to:
monitor a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a radio of the secondary SIM; and
drop a carrier network associated with the secondary SIM responsive to the SNR of the radio of the secondary SIM falling below a first value.
However Lindoff, analogous art also teaching DSDS technology, does disclose:
wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the at least one processor to:
monitor a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a radio of the secondary SIM; and [Lindoff discloses that radio channel characteristics such as signal interference noise ratio (SINR) may be monitored and evaluated (¶36; Fig. 1)]
drop a carrier network associated with the secondary SIM responsive to the SNR of the radio of the secondary SIM falling below a first value. [Lindoff discloses the connection state of a SIM will have higher power consumption if SINR requirement is high and so the connection with the worst link/connection may be disabled (¶36; Fig. 1)]
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the communication system of Moon and Jing with that of Lindoff such that a poor connection is disabled in order to save on power consumption, as per Lindoff (¶36), with reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding Claim 9, Moon and Jing disclose:
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the at least one processor to:
add the carrier network associated with the secondary SIM; [Moon discloses that a UE may access a wireless communication network and may use a voice communication or data communication service through an appropriate authentication process using a universal subscriber identity module (USIM) installed on a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) which may also be referred to as a subscriber identity module (SIM) card and that an electronic device may support two or more SIMs (¶3-6; ¶ 109-112; Fig. 1B; Fig. 2)]
check the SNR of the radio of the secondary SIM; and [Lindoff discloses that radio channel characteristics such as signal interference noise ratio (SINR) may be monitored and evaluated (¶36; Fig. 1)]
use the carrier network responsive to the SNR of the radio of the secondary SIM being at least a second value. [Lindoff discloses the connection state of a SIM will have higher power consumption if SINR requirement is high and so the connection with the worst link/connection may be disabled (¶36; Fig. 1)]
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moon and Jing and further in view of Li et al. (US 2022/0022014 A1; hereinafter Li).
Regarding Claim 11, Moon and Jing disclose:
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the [Moon discloses two operational profiles where the first operational profile is for a first subscriber identity information and the second operational profile is for a second subscriber identity information. Moon further discloses multiple SIMS grouped together within a SIM card manager each with a profile (¶233; ¶ 114-115; ¶252-254; Fig. 13D). Jing discloses radio sharing and that the UE can trigger the opportunistic scanning on SIM2 (¶79-87).]
Moon and Jing do not explicitly disclose:
wherein the carrier application leverages application programming interfaces (APIs) of the carrier to group the subscriptions of the primary SIM and the secondary SIM and to make the secondary SIM opportunistic.
However Li, analogous art also teaching DSDS technology, does disclose:
wherein the carrier application leverages application programming interfaces (APIs) of the carrier to group the subscriptions of the primary SIM and the secondary SIM and to make the secondary SIM opportunistic. [Li discloses APIs and used to inform mobile network operators (MNOs) of assigned international mobile equipment identifier (IMEI) values for one or more SIMs/eSIMs of mobile wireless device which are aggregated to include multiple IMEI values (¶ 38; Fig. 5)]
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the communication system of Moon and Jing with that of Li such to include APIs to aggregate information to MNOs, as per Li (¶38), with reasonable expectation of success.
Claim 15, 17, and 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moon and further in view of Cho.
Regarding Claim 15, Moon discloses:
A computer-implemented method for providing dual subscriber identity module (SIM) dual standby (DSDS), comprising: [Moon discloses an electronic device capable of DSDS with memory storing a program and a processor which may execute a program (¶86-89; ¶107; Fig. 1A)]
detecting that a carrier network associated with a secondary SIM is available, by a DSDS device; [Moon discloses that a UE may access a wireless communication network and may use a voice communication or data communication service through an appropriate authentication process using a universal subscriber identity module (USIM) installed on a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) which may also be referred to as a subscriber identity module (SIM) card and that an electronic device may support two or more SIMs (¶3-6; ¶ 109-112; Fig. 1B; Fig. 2)]
after the detection that the carrier network associated with a secondary SIM is available, binding a framework associated with the secondary SIM to a carrier application that provides a carrier configuration service, by the DSDS device, based on the detection; and [Moon discloses that a UE may access a wireless communication network and may use a voice communication or data communication service through an appropriate authentication process using a universal subscriber identity module (USIM) installed on a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) which may also be referred to as a subscriber identity module (SIM) card and that an electronic device may support two or more SIMs (¶3-6; ¶ 109-112; ¶162; Fig. 1B; Fig. 2). Moon further discloses that even though network communication connection to a specific SIM is not made due to failure to search for a PLMN, search for a cell, camp on a cell, or make an RRC connection to a specific cell, it may be said that the SIM is enabled if a procedure for network communication connection to the corresponding SIM is being performed (¶198).]
configuring the secondary SIM via the carrier application, by the DSDS device; [Moon discloses a subscription manager discovery service (SM-DS) server, a subscription manager data preparation plus (SM-DP+) server, a mobile network operator (MNO) server, and a communication service server and that the eSIM may download/store information necessary for communication service provision where the first information necessary for downloading data including the first subscriber identity information (first operational profile) where the communication session information may include SM-DS server access information; Moon further discloses that the SM-DS server may provide the SM-DP+ server address from which the operational profile can be downloaded based on the provisioning profile (¶110; ¶ 117-124; Fig. 1B; Fig. 2)]
displaying a single SIM icon, a single network signal indicator, or both, for both a primary SIM and the secondary SIM, by the DSDS device; and [Moon discloses that the device may have a display which may include a screen associated with the first communication based on the provisioning profile or the second communication based on the second operational profile where the first operational profile is for a first subscriber identity information and the second operational profile is for a second subscriber identity information (¶9; ¶114-115; ¶144; Fig. 1A item 160). Moon also discloses icons corresponding to the SIMs configured and an indicator of availability (¶ 206; Fig. 8B)]
Moon does not explicitly disclose:
preventing a user of the DSDS device from accessing settings pertaining to the secondary SIM, by the DSDS device.
However Cho, analogous art also teaching DSDS technology, does disclose:
preventing a user of the DSDS device from accessing settings pertaining to the secondary SIM, by the DSDS device. [Cho discloses pre-determined display rules which may determine whether or not SIM slot information may be shown (¶5; ¶19-22) ]
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the communication system of Moon with that of Cho such SIM information may be hidden in the case that SIM card inserted is in roaming status so as to not overcrowd the display screen, as per Cho (¶5), with reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding Claim 17, Moon and Cho disclose:
The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein
the DSDS device comprises the primary SIM, and [Moon discloses a dual-SIM dual-standby (DSDS) device may support two or more SIMs which may either be physical (pSIM/rSIM) or embedded (eSIM) (¶3-6; ¶108; ¶111; Fig. 1B)]
the primary SIM and the secondary SIM are both physical SIMs (pSIMs), the primary SIM and the secondary SIM are both embedded SIMs (eSIMs), or one of the primary SIM and the secondary SIM is a pSIM and the other of the primary SIM and the secondary SIM is an eSIM. [Moon discloses a dual-SIM dual-standby (DSDS) device may support two or more SIMs which may either be physical (pSIM/rSIM) or embedded (eSIM) (¶3-6; ¶108; ¶111; Fig. 1B)]
Regarding Claim 20, Moon discloses:
A computing system, comprising:
memory storing computer program instructions; and [Moon discloses an electronic device capable of DSDS with memory storing a program and a processor which may execute a program (¶86-89; ¶107; Fig. 1A)]
at least one processor configured to execute the computer program instructions, wherein the computer program instructions are configured to cause the at least one processor to: [Moon discloses an electronic device capable of DSDS with memory storing a program and a processor which may execute a program (¶86-89; ¶107; Fig. 1A)]
detect that a carrier network associated with a secondary subscriber identity module (SIM) is available; [Moon discloses that a UE may access a wireless communication network and may use a voice communication or data communication service through an appropriate authentication process using a universal subscriber identity module (USIM) installed on a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) which may also be referred to as a subscriber identity module (SIM) card and that an electronic device may support two or more SIMs (¶3-6; ¶ 109-112; Fig. 1B; Fig. 2)]
after the detection that the carrier network associated with a secondary SIM is available, bind a framework associated with the secondary SIM to a carrier application that provides a carrier configuration service, based on the detection; and [Moon discloses that a UE may access a wireless communication network and may use a voice communication or data communication service through an appropriate authentication process using a universal subscriber identity module (USIM) installed on a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) which may also be referred to as a subscriber identity module (SIM) card and that an electronic device may support two or more SIMs (¶3-6; ¶ 109-112; ¶162; Fig. 1B; Fig. 2). Moon further discloses that even though network communication connection to a specific SIM is not made due to failure to search for a PLMN, search for a cell, camp on a cell, or make an RRC connection to a specific cell, it may be said that the SIM is enabled if a procedure for network communication connection to the corresponding SIM is being performed (¶198).]
configure the secondary SIM via the carrier application, wherein [Moon discloses a subscription manager discovery service (SM-DS) server, a subscription manager data preparation plus (SM-DP+) server, a mobile network operator (MNO) server, and a communication service server and that the eSIM may download/store information necessary for communication service provision where the first information necessary for downloading data including the first subscriber identity information (first operational profile) where the communication session information may include SM-DS server access information; Moon further discloses that the SM-DS server may provide the SM-DP+ server address from which the operational profile can be downloaded based on the provisioning profile (¶110; ¶ 117-124; Fig. 1B; Fig. 2)]
the computing system comprises at least one additional SIM in addition to the primary SIM and the secondary SIM, and [Moon discloses that an electronic device may support two or more SIMs (¶3-6; ¶21-23; ¶ 109-112; Fig. 1B; Fig. 2)]
Moon does not explicitly disclose:
the at least one additional SIM is not visible to a user via the computing system.
However Cho, analogous art also teaching DSDS technology, does disclose:
the at least one additional SIM is not visible to a user via the computing system. [Cho discloses pre-determined display rules which may determine whether or not SIM slot information may be shown (¶5; ¶19-22) ]
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the communication system of Moon with that of Cho such SIM information may be hidden in the case that SIM card inserted is in roaming status so as to not overcrowd the display screen, as per Cho (¶5), with reasonable expectation of success.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moon and Cho and further in view of Jing.
Regarding Claim 16, Moon and Cho disclose:
The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the configuration of the secondary SIM comprises grouping subscriptions of the primary SIM and the secondary SIM and [Moon discloses two operational profiles where the first operational profile is for a first subscriber identity information and the second operational profile is for a second subscriber identity information. Moon further discloses multiple SIMS grouped together within a SIM card manager each with a profile (¶233; ¶ 114-115; ¶252-254; Fig. 13D)]
Moon and Cho do not explicitly disclose:
wherein the configuration of the secondary SIM comprises grouping subscriptions of the primary SIM and the secondary SIM and making the secondary SIM opportunistic.
However Jing, analogous art also teaching DSDS technology, does disclose:
wherein the configuration of the secondary SIM comprises grouping subscriptions of the primary SIM and the secondary SIM and making the secondary SIM opportunistic. [Jing discloses radio sharing and that the UE can trigger the opportunistic scanning on SIM2 (¶79-87)]
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the communication system of Moon with that of Jing such that SIM2 is made to be opportunistic in order to allow for the data traffic of SIM1 according to priority, as per Jing (¶84-85), with reasonable expectation of success.
Claim 18-19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moon and Cho and further in view of Lindoff et al. (US 2018/0084504 A1; hereinafter Lindoff).
Regarding Claim 18, Moon and Cho discloses:
The computer-implemented method of claim 15.
Moon and Cho do not explicitly disclose:
further comprising:
monitoring a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a radio of the secondary SIM, by the DSDS device; and
dropping a carrier network associated with the secondary SIM responsive to the SNR of the radio falling below a first value, by the DSDS device.
However Lindoff, analogous art also teaching DSDS technology, does disclose:
further comprising:
monitoring a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a radio of the secondary SIM, by the DSDS device; and [Lindoff discloses that radio channel characteristics such as signal interference noise ratio (SINR) may be monitored and evaluated (¶36; Fig. 1)]
dropping a carrier network associated with the secondary SIM responsive to the SNR of the radio falling below a first value, by the DSDS device. [Lindoff discloses the connection state of a SIM will have higher power consumption if SINR requirement is high and so the connection with the worst link/connection may be disabled (¶36; Fig. 1)]
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the communication system of Moon and Cho with that of Lindoff such that a poor connection is disabled in order to save on power consumption, as per Lindoff (¶36), with reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding Claim 19, Moon, Jing, and Lindoff discloses:
The computer-implemented method of claim 18, further comprising:
adding the carrier network associated with the secondary SIM, by the DSDS device; [Moon discloses that a UE may access a wireless communication network and may use a voice communication or data communication service through an appropriate authentication process using a universal subscriber identity module (USIM) installed on a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) which may also be referred to as a subscriber identity module (SIM) card and that an electronic device may support two or more SIMs (¶3-6; ¶ 109-112; Fig. 1B; Fig. 2)]
checking the SNR of the radio of the secondary SIM, by the DSDS device; and [Lindoff discloses that radio channel characteristics such as signal interference noise ratio (SINR) may be monitored and evaluated (¶36; Fig. 1)]
using the carrier network responsive to the SNR of the radio of the secondary SIM being at least a second value, by the DSDS device. [Lindoff discloses the connection state of a SIM will have higher power consumption if SINR requirement is high and so the connection with the worst link/connection may be disabled (¶36; Fig. 1)]
Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moon and Jing and further in view of Mukherjee et al. (US 11,641,579 B1; hereinafter Mukherjee).
Regarding Claim 23, Moon and Jing fully disclose:
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1.
Moon and Jing do not explicitly disclose:
wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the at least one processor to utilize a neural network trained using a reward function to select the primary SIM or the secondary SIM to be used for at least one type of traffic.
However Mukherjee, analogous art also teaching UE network access with multiple SIM cards, does disclose:
wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the at least one processor to utilize a neural network trained using a reward function to select the primary SIM or the secondary SIM to be used for at least one type of traffic.[(See Mukherjee Col. 1 ln 51 – col. 2 ln. 17; Col. 7 ln. 36 – Col. 8 ln. 63; Fig. 1-3)
(4) With the introduction of eSIMs, end-users can pick and choose from a large number of competing network providers in any given location without having to physically visit a store or wait for a physical SIM card to be shipped. Providers of eSIMs typically offer shorter contracts with limited data volumes. Modern phones allow both a physical and eSIM to be installed side-by-side, and any number of eSIM profiles may be installed on the same device, albeit currently only a single one can be active at any given time. This setup is ideal for travelers or for devices that just need very limited connectivity over a short period of time. An eSIM profile may also be used to top off primary plans and avoid hitting bandwidth throttling thresholds.
(5) Currently, end-users have to manually switch between SIMs and eSIMs to activate, although different profiles can be designated for phone calls and messaging and data for instance.
(6) One could argue that simply switching to the provider with the best signal at any given time is sufficient, but apart from switching cost it could also be suboptimal because estimating future signal strength in a complex mobile network is non-trivial and the most recent signal measured is not necessarily the best predictor. Mobility also plays an important role as the Quality of Service (QoS) offered depends heavily on location, and therefore machine learning models have been deployed to improve performance in mobile networks by predicting the best base stations to serve a user given a mobility pattern. Different applications may have different networking needs, complicating the selection process further, and motivating work such as Radio Access Technology (RAT) selection based on price and capacity. Finally, the user may also impose constraints on the budget available for bandwidth purchases, both in the near-term (daily or weekly) and the longer-term (monthly).
(16) As used herein, a “reward function” refers to a calculated metric representing quality of experience (QoE) as a function of price. An “optimized” reward function is the highest relative reward function value produced from a plurality of resource packages when a high QoE metric, or combination of QoE metrics, objectively produces the best mobile network experience (e.g., highest throughput, fastest upload or download rate, etc.). An “optimized” reward function is the lowest relative reward function value produced from a plurality of resource packages when a low QoE metric, or combination of metrics, objectively produces the best mobile network experience (e.g., lowest latency, fewest dropped frames, etc.).
(17) FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a user agent for autonomously controlling access to mobile networks, according to an embodiment. The user agent resides on a user equpiment (UE) and includes an activity monitor and a selector. The activity monitor identifies when a user selects an application requiring resources (e.g., voice or data) to run. The selector, which is in operable communication with the activity monitor, is notified that resources are required, and either the activity monitor or the selector determines the type and quantity of resources required to run the application. The selector is typically implemented as software executed by a processor of the UE and includes a machine learning (ML) model. The activity monitor may also be implemented as software executed on a processor of the UE, or the activity monitor may be a separate integrated circuit or switch. The selector queries a resource database, which may reside on the UE when resources are pre-purchased. Otherwise, the selector sends a signal, e.g., via an antenna of the UE, to a remote (e.g., cloud based) resource database to determine which resources packages meeting the resource requirements of the application are available. Then, the machine learning model of the selector predicts which resource package of those available will meet the resource requirements and optimize a reward function to achieve the best quality of experience at the lowest price. The selector then instructs a component of the UE to implement the selected resource package, e.g., by switching a mobile network component, such as a SIM card, or by sending a signal via the antenna to the remote resource database or a clearing house to purchase the selected resource package.
(19) FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating steps in a method for autonomously controlling mobile network access, according to an embodiment. In step 102, activity of the UE is monitored by the activity monitor of the user agent. Query 104 asks whether a resource is needed by an application of the UE. If the answer is “no”, the method continues to monitor UE activity. If the answer to query 104 is “yes”, the activity monitor or selector determines the resource requirements for running the application, in step 106. In step 108, the selector of the user agent identifies a plurality of resource packages that were pre-purchased or that are available for purchase. In step 110, the selector uses a machine learning model to select the resource package meeting the resource requirements and predicted to optimize a reward function that maximizes a quality of experience metric as a function of price. The selector instructs a component of the UE to implement the selected resource package in step 112 (e.g., by switching SIM cards or purchasing bandwidth), and then the ML data is updated with information from the last implemented resource package (e.g., resource package parameters and resulting QoE) in step 114. The process then repeats.
]
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the communication system of Moon and Jing with that of Mukherjee to include neural network trained SIM selection in order to automate radio access technology (RAT) selection based on price and capacity, as per Mukherjee (Col. 1 ln 51 – col. 2 ln. 17), with reasonable expectation of success.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 24 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.
Conclusion
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/RKF/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468
/MARCUS SMITH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468
