Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
2. Claims 17 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
a) Claims 17 and 20 are using “if” statement which is a conditional language and will not be given a patentable weight. Examiner is suggesting to replace “if” with “when”;
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
3. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
A) Claims 6, 9-13, 15-16, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
a) Claim 6 recites the limitations " determining, by the system, that a high load condition is active; and based on the high load condition being active, applying a group of high-load levels for the resource reservation procedure, wherein the group of high-load levels maps the defined transmission power level ranges to respective associated numbers of reservable resources; and selecting, by the system, a high-load level from the group of high-load levels based on the transmission power level of the user equipment being within a defined transmission power level range; and wherein at least one of the first high-load number of reservable resources is less than the first number of reservable resources or at least one of the second high-load number of reservable resources is less than the second number of reservable resources”.
The newly added limitations are lacking written description as the specification does not clearly disclose or describe “determining, by the system, that a high load condition is active; and based on the high load condition being active, applying a group of high-load levels for the resource reservation procedure, wherein the group of high-load levels maps the defined transmission power level ranges to respective associated numbers of reservable resources; and selecting, by the system, a high-load level from the group of high-load levels based on the transmission power level of the user equipment being within a defined transmission power level range. After careful review of the specification, paragraphs [42-43], is disclosed that "the network (e.g., the network device 124) can adjust the effectiveness of the resource reservation procedure. For example, in a high load area, the network can configure a different table (e.g., a different resource reservation data structure of the one or more resource reservation data structures 122). The different table can allow a less amount of resources to be reserved with smaller length of reservation. Note that network can configure to disable resource reservation at some conditions (e.g., the below table, UE at Max Tx power is not allowed since the maximal reserved resource is set to 0%). Examples of resource reservation data structures are provided below with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3.
If the traffic manager component 110 determines the device 102 is in an area of high network traffic, the adjustment component 112 can adjust the values based on the different resource reservation data structure.
The Examiner was unable to find support for these limitations in the specification. Please correct or point specifically to the portions of the specification that include these limitations.
b) Claim 9 recites the limitations " determining whether a high-load condition is active; and selecting a level by: based on the high-load condition being inactive and based on a current transmission power level of a user equipment, selecting, a non-high-load level, from the group of levels, that corresponds to a transmission power level range that includes the current transmission power level of the user equipment, thereby selecting the non-high-load level to be the level; or based on the high-load condition being active and based on the current transmission power level of the user equipment, selecting, from the group of high- load levels, a high-load level that corresponds to the transmission power level range that includes the current transmission power level of the user equipment, thereby selecting the high-load level to be the level; wherein: respective levels of the group of levels and the group of high-load levels are based on respective transmission power level ranges; the respective levels comprise respective associated numbers of reservable resources; and for at least one transmission power level range, an associated number of reservable resources in the group of high-load levels is less than a corresponding associated number of reservable resources in the group of levels.”.
The newly added limitations are lacking written description as the specification does not clearly disclose or describe “determining whether a high-load condition is active; and selecting a level by: based on the high-load condition being inactive and based on a current transmission power level of a user equipment, selecting, a non-high-load level, from the group of levels, that corresponds to a transmission power level range that includes the current transmission power level of the user equipment, thereby selecting the non-high-load level to be the level; or based on the high-load condition being active and based on the current transmission power level of the user equipment, selecting, from the group of high- load levels, a high-load level that corresponds to the transmission power level range that includes the current transmission power level of the user equipment, thereby selecting the high-load level to be the level. After careful review of the specification, paragraphs [42-43], is disclosed that "the network (e.g., the network device 124) can adjust the effectiveness of the resource reservation procedure. For example, in a high load area, the network can configure a different table (e.g., a different resource reservation data structure of the one or more resource reservation data structures 122). The different table can allow a less amount of resources to be reserved with smaller length of reservation. Note that network can configure to disable resource reservation at some conditions (e.g., the below table, UE at Max Tx power is not allowed since the maximal reserved resource is set to 0%). Examples of resource reservation data structures are provided below with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3.
If the traffic manager component 110 determines the device 102 is in an area of high network traffic, the adjustment component 112 can adjust the values based on the different resource reservation data structure.
The Examiner was unable to find support for these limitations in the specification. Please correct or point specifically to the portions of the specification that include these limitations.
c) Claims 10-13, 15-16, and 21 are also rejected based on their direct or indirect dependency to the rejected claim 9.
Allowable Subject Matter
4. Upon proper overcome objection/rejection as discussed in sections 2-3, claims 1-13, and 15-21 are allowed.
5. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Applicant’s reply makes evident the reasons for allowance, satisfying the “record as a whole” provision of the rule 37 CFR 1.104(e). Specifically, the substance of the reply, dated 03/4/2026, are persuasive, as such the reasons for allowance are evident from the record and the stated differences of the prior arts.
The prior arts of record do not disclose or teach (with respect to independent claim 1) the following limitations, in combination with other limitations of the independent claims:
wherein the group of levels comprises at least a first level and a second level, and wherein: transmission power levels falling within a first defined transmission power level range are higher than transmission power levels falling within a second defined transmission power level range; the first level comprises a first number of reservable resources; the second level comprises a second number of reservable resources; the first number of reservable resources is less than the second number of reservable resources; the first level is associated with the first defined transmission power level range; and the second level is associated with the second defined transmission power level range.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
6. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FARIDEH MADANI whose telephone number is (571)272-1249. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday; 9 AM to 5 PM 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, JINSONG HU can be reached at 5712723965. 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.
/FARIDEH MADANI/Examiner, Art Unit 2643
/JINSONG HU/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2643
Prosecution Insights