DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
All claims have priority date of parent PCT application of 1/18/2021.
Response to Continuation after Final Rejection
Office action in response to RCE entered 02/13/2026. Claims 4, 6, 7, 9, 12, and 14 are amended; claims 5, 8, 10, 11 and 13 have been canceled; claims 1-4, 6, 7, 9, 12 and 14-20 remain pending in this application. Claims 1-3 and 15-19 withdrawn.
The examiner thanks the applicant for indicating the support for the claim amendments in the remarks.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 02/13/2026 with have been considered but are not found persuasive.
Applicant submits, generally, that Li, Jin and Astrom fail to teach a priority of the first communication identity being higher than a priority of the second communication identity, determine that the first communication identity has the second communication capability and the second communication identity has a fifth communication capability, wherein the fifth communication capability is determined based on the second communication capability and the maximum number of MIMO layers supported by the terminal device, or . . . a priority of the second communication identity being higher than a priority of the first communication identity, determine that the second communication identity has a third communication capability and the first communication identity has the sixth communication capability, wherein the sixth communication capability is determined based on the third communication capability and the maximum number of MIMO layers supported by the terminal device. Examiner respectfully disagrees, as claimed. Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Applicant asserts Jin teaches “that the UE may configure the UE capability based on a RAT type, and the UE may respectively configure the corresponding band combinations for different RAT types based on a priority (i.e., a sequence) of NR, MR-DC, then LTE.” And that “the priority of the RAT types (i.e., the NR, MR-DC, or LTE) is different from priorities of two communication identities of a terminal device.” (Remarks page 11).
In response examiner notes that “priorities of two communication identities” as described in the claim is not a known term of the art and used as a general parameter, where different RAT types could describe a communication identity i.e. for a dual-sim mobile device operating on two different RATs, as taught by the art. There being no contradicting or limiting disclosure in the claim or the specification.
Response is also applicable to claim 14. And remaining dependent claims.
Election/Restriction
Claims 1-3 and 15-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 9/22/2025.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(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.
Claim(s) 4,6-7,9,12 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over US 20230199479 A1 LI; Wenting et al. and US 20190069193 A1 Astrom; Magnus et al. further in view of WO 2020209541 A1 JIN, SEUNGRI et al.
Claims 4 and 14
Li teaches An apparatus for coordinating capability of a terminal device, applied to the terminal device (Fig. 13 Device 1300; Fig. 10 method 1000, par 104) and comprising
a processor, a memory configured to store a computer program capable of running on the processor, and a transceiver (Fig. 13, par. 108 processor 1310, transceiver 1313 memory not shown), wherein the processor is configured to run the computer program (Fig. 13, par. 108, configured to store instructions).
Li (See Pars. 57, Fig. 7, Fig. 9, F [0057] For a wireless device with SIM1/SIM2, when the SIM2 is at idle/inactive state, for the paging occasion (PO) of SIM2, SIM1 can only use the reduced part 2/4 in the reduced capability. For the other parts (part 1/3), SIMI can use the capabilities identified in the full capability set. When SIM2 needs to enter the connected state, the wireless device will take the entire reduced capability into consideration. Multiple wireless device capability sets may be needed for the wireless device capability cooperation of a dual connected state. For example, a full UE capability set and a reduced UE capability set, where the reduced capability is adopted in the dual connected state mode.(
control the transceiver to:
send first communication capability information corresponding to a first communication identity to a first network (See Pars 68-80, e.g., Fig. 7: 740 UE Cap Info, 790 reduced capability to network 1; 794 SIM1 with full UE capability set; See also pars. 90-103, Fig. 9: 940 UE Cap info; 992 UE cap 2, 997 UE cap 3);
wherein the first communication capability information is for determining whether a communication capability of the first communication is a first communication capability, a second communication capability or a sixth communication capability (e.g., par. 131 “wherein the one or more capability sets includes a full capability set and a reduced capability set, wherein the full capability set corresponds to a maximum capability of the wireless device connected to one network, wherein the reduced capability set corresponds to less than the maximum capability of the wireless device; See also Fig. 5, pars. 52-56 showing device capability divided based on needs, necessarily based on the maximum capability),
and the communication capability of the first communication identity is determined based on a communication state of the first communication identity and a communication state of the second communication identity (See Pars 68-80, e.g., Fig. 7: 740 UE Cap Info, 790 reduced capability to network 1; 794 SIM1 with full UE capability set; See also pars. 90-103, Fig. 9: 940 UE Cap info; 992 UE cap 2, 997 UE cap 3);
wherein the processor is further configured to: in response to the communication state of the first communication identity being different from the communication state of the second communication identity, determine the communication capability of the first communication identity and the communication capability of the second communication identity based on the communication state of the first communication identity and the communication state of the second communication identity (See Li Pars 68-80, e.g., Fig. 7: 740 UE Cap Info, 790 reduced capability to network 1; 794 SIM1 with full UE capability set; See also pars. 90-103, Fig. 9: 940 UE Cap info; 992 UE cap 2, 997 UE cap 3; See e.g., Pars 68-80, 760 SIM2 registration procedure with capability; Fig. 9 pars. 90-103, 960 SIM2 registration with capability, 994 SIM2 reduced capability, 999 SIM2 reduced capability).
in response to the communication state of the first communication identity being a connected state and the communication state of the second communication identity being a non-connected state, determine that the first communication identity has a second communication capability and the second communication identity has a fifth communication capability (See Li Pars 57, 69, 75 one SIM in idle/inactive state), wherein the fifth communication capability is determined based on the second communication capability and a maximum communication capability supported by the terminal device (See Li e.g., par. 131 “wherein the one or more capability sets includes a full capability set and a reduced capability set, wherein the full capability set corresponds to a maximum capability of the wireless device connected to one network, wherein the reduced capability set corresponds to less than the maximum capability of the wireless device; See also Fig. 5, pars. 52-56 showing device capability divided based on needs, necessarily based on the maximum capability); or
in response to the communication state of the second communication identity being a connected state and the communication state of the first communication identity being a non-connected state (See Li Pars 57, 69, 75 one SIM in idle/inactive state), determine that the second communication identity has a third communication capability and the first communication identity has a sixth communication capability, wherein the sixth communication capability is determined based on the third communication capability and a maximum communication capability supported by the terminal device (Li e.g., par. 131 “wherein the one or more capability sets includes a full capability set and a reduced capability set, wherein the full capability set corresponds to a maximum capability of the wireless device connected to one network, wherein the reduced capability set corresponds to less than the maximum capability of the wireless device; See also Fig. 5, pars. 52-56 showing device capability divided based on needs, necessarily based on the maximum capability).
wherein the fifth communication capability is determined based on the second communication capability and a maximum communication capability supported by the terminal device; or wherein the sixth communication capability is determined based on the third communication capability and a maximum communication capability supported by the terminal device (e.g., par. 131 “wherein the one or more capability sets includes a full capability set and a reduced capability set, wherein the full capability set corresponds to a maximum capability of the wireless device connected to one network, wherein the reduced capability set corresponds to less than the maximum capability of the wireless device; See also Fig. 5, pars. 52-56 showing device capability divided based on needs, necessarily based on the maximum capability).
Li does not teach wherein the communication capability of the first communication identity is a number of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layers supported by the first communication identity, a total of the communication capability of the first communication identity and a communication capability of the second communication identity is less than or equal to a maximum number of MIMO layers supported by the terminal device, and the communication capability of the second communication identity is a number of MIMO layers supported by the second communication identity.
Astrom teaches wherein the communication capability of the first communication identity is a number of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layers supported by the first communication identity (Astrom Fig 1, ¶35 device 140 with MIMO capability; ¶36-37 device 140 reports CSI and number of MIMO layers “to transmit to the wireless communication device 140 in the current radio environment”), a total of the communication capability of the first communication identity and a communication capability of the second communication identity is less than or equal to a maximum number of MIMO layers supported by the terminal device, and the communication capability of the second communication identity is a number of MIMO layers supported by the second communication identity (Astom ¶37 “as shown in FIG. 2, the wireless communication device 140 reports Max Rank 4 in the CSI report when all 4 RXs are available for SIM1 operation, the wireless communication device 140 reports Max Rank 2 in the CSI report when only 2 RXs are available for SIM1 operation. The second SIM, SIM 2 which is associated to a second operator is in idle mode, and only performs idle mode tasks. An idle mode task may be paging reception and/or RRM measurements. Typically the idle mode tasks take 5-10 milliseconds and are performed periodically over a down link receiving cycle, DRX cycle as shown in FIG. 2, e.g. 2.56 seconds. When performing idle mode tasks, the wireless communication device 140 needs to allocate some receiver paths for SIM2 reception.” Thus in example 4 MIMO layers are shared between first and second network meeting claim scope.).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the invention of Li to include the noted teachings of Astrom in order to handling operating modes in the wireless communication device which comprises multiple receiving paths and at least two Subscriber Identity Modules, SIMs. (Astrom ¶1)
And further teaching the maximum number of MIMO layers supported by the terminal device (Astom ¶37 “as shown in FIG. 2, the wireless communication device 140 reports Max Rank 4 in the CSI report when all 4 RXs are available for SIM1 operation, the wireless communication device 140 reports Max Rank 2 in the CSI report when only 2 RXs are available for SIM1 operation..”).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the invention of Li to include the noted teachings of Astrom in order to handling operating modes in the wireless communication device which comprises multiple receiving paths and at least two Subscriber Identity Modules, SIMs. (Astrom ¶1)
Li does not teach in response to the priority of [the service type corresponding to] the first communication identity being higher than the priority of the [service type corresponding to the] second communication identity, determine that the first communication identity has a second communication capability and the second communication identity has a fifth communication capability, or in response to the priority of [the service type corresponding to] the second communication identity being higher than the priority of [the service type corresponding to] the first communication identity, determine that the second communication identity has a third communication capability and the first communication identity has a sixth communication capability.
Jin teaches in response to the priority of [the service type corresponding to] the first communication identity being higher than the priority of the [service type corresponding to the] second communication identity, determine that the first communication identity has a second communication capability and the second communication identity has a fifth communication capability, or in response to the priority of [the service type corresponding to] the second communication identity being higher than the priority of [the service type corresponding to] the first communication identity, determine that the second communication identity has a third communication capability and the first communication identity has a sixth communication capability (See Jin Page 11 “ the procedure may be performed for each RAT type, and may be performed with priority in the order of NR, MR-DC, and LTE. When the “eutra-nr-only” flag or the “eutra” flag is set in the RAT type of the UE capability request message, NR SA BCs among the configured BC candidate list may be completely removed. In an embodiment, the above-described operation may occur only when an LTE base station (eNB) requests “eutra” capability. . . . After the terminal capability is configured, in step 1e-10, the terminal 1e-01 may transmit a UE capability information message including the terminal capability to the serving base station 12-02.)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the combination of Li and Astrom to include the noted teachings of Jin in order to a method for a terminal to report its capabilities in a wireless communication system (Jin Pg. 1)
Claim 6
The combination teaches apparatus of claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to control the transceiver to report the first communication capability and the second communication capability of the first communication identity to the first network (See Li Pars 68-80, e.g., Fig. 7: 740 UE Cap Info, 790 reduced capability to network 1; 794 SIM1 with full UE capability set; See also pars. 90-103, Fig. 9: 940 UE Cap info; 992 UE cap 2, 997 UE cap 3).
Claim 7
The combination teaches apparatus of claim 4, wherein the transceiver is further configured to: send second communication capability information corresponding to a second communication identity to a second network (See Li e.g., Pars 68-80, 760 SIM2 registration procedure with capability; Fig. 9 pars. 90-103, 960 SIM2 registration with capability, 994 SIM2 reduced capability, 999 SIM2 reduced capability).
The combination teaches the apparatus of claim 4, wherein the transceiver is further configured to: send second communication capability information corresponding to a second communication identity to a second network (See e.g., Pars 68-80, 760 SIM2 registration procedure with capability; Fig. 9 pars. 90-103, 960 SIM2 registration with capability, 994 SIM2 reduced capability, 999 SIM2 reduced capability)
Claim 9
The combination teaches the apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to control the transceiver to report the third communication capability and the fourth communication capability of the second communication identity to the second network (See e.g., Pars 68-80, 760 SIM2 registration procedure with capability; Fig. 9 pars. 90-103, 960 SIM2 registration with capability, 994 SIM2 reduced capability, 999 SIM2 reduced capability).
Claim 12
The combination teaches the apparatus of claim 4, wherein the processor is further configured to: in response to the communication state of the first communication identity being the same as the communication state of the second communication identity, determine the communication capability of the first communication identity and the communication capability of the second communication identity based on at least one of: a service type corresponding to the first communication identity; a service type corresponding to the second communication identity ([0077] In the above example, only one reduced capability set is used, but as mentioned above, there are two dual connected state types: [0078] Type 1: Short dual connected state. For example, SIM1 is in the connected state, and SIM2 must do a mobility update, (e.g. periodic registration, moving into a new registration area, or response to the paging). In this case, the wireless device will need capability cooperation during the short dual connected state. [0079] Type 2: Long dual connected state: For example, the wireless device may have a voice call on SIMI and may have some other data service on SIM2. In this case, the wireless device may need capability cooperation. [0080] Generally, the Type 1 can be considered to be a control plane dual connected state, while the second type can be considered to be a user plane dual connected state. For different dual connected state types, the different capability maybe adopted.).
Pertinent Prior Art(s)
The prior art made of record though not relied upon in the current rejection is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 20190069193 A1 Astrom; Magnus et al.
Astrom teaches A method for coordinating capability of a terminal device (See claim 1, figure 3) comprising at least one of:
sending, by the terminal device, first communication capability information corresponding to a first communication identity to a first network (See " ... reporting ... to the first network node a changed receiving capability of the first SIM connection due to a reduced number of receiving paths available for the first SIM connection ... ", claim 1 ); ... ,
wherein the first communication capability information is for determining a communication capability of the first communication identity (See " ... allocating a first set of receiving paths to the first SIM connection and a second set of receiving paths to the second SIM connection to perform the idle mode task during the first time duration ... "; claim 1), and
the communication capability of the first communication identity is determined based on a communication state of the first communication identity and a communication state of the second communication identity (See " . . . a first SIM, is in active mode towards a first network node, a second SIM connection, which is a wireless connection associated to a second SIM, is in idle mode ... allocating a first set of receiving paths to the first SIM connection and a second set of receiving paths to the second SIM connection to perform the idle mode task during the first time duration ... ", claim 1);
The consideration of the current states of the first and second subscription (connected and idle) is implicitly shown (See " ... SIMs, wherein a first SIM connection, which is a wireless connection associated to a first SIM, is in active mode towards a first network node, a second SIM connection, which is a wireless connection associated to a second SIM, is in idle mode and camping on a second network node ... ", claim 1)
CN 111586717 A FAN, WEI
discloses (see description, paragraphs [0013] [0171]): detecting that a first user identification card is in a connected state and a second user identification card is in a non-connected state;
the multi-card mobile terminal generating access request information of the second user identification card and sending the access request information to a second network end device, the access request information comprising a predefined capability limitation indication; the second network-end device receiving the access request information of the second user identification card sent by the multi-card mobile terminal, the access request information comprising a predefined capability limitation indication;
the second network-end device generating network configuration information corresponding to the access request information and sending the network configuration information to the multi-card mobile terminal; the network configuration information comprising any one or more of the number of connections, the number of carriers, the number of MIMO layers, the bandwidth level, and frequency domain and time domain configuration information configured by the multi-card mobile terminal;
an electronic device comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored on the memory and capable of running on the processor, and the method in the embodiments above being implemented when the processor executes the program;
a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon; a program product, comprising a program code; and using modules to implement a corresponding method.
APPLE INC: "Methods for MUSIM Network Switching", 3GPP DRAFT; R2-2100850, vol. RAN WG2, no. Electronic; 15 January 2021 (2021-01-15)
2.2 Network Switching Strategies and Solutions (text below Proposal 2):
For the case of MUSIM UE SIM instance (1) in CONNECTED state, being suspended due to a higher priority activity on UE SIM instance (2), which is in IDLE/INACTIVE state, the following approach is proposed. In this case, since UE SIM instance (1) is already in CONNECTED state, it can reuse the MUSIM UE ASSISTANCE INFORMATION (MUSIM UAI) based signaling approach to indicate to its network (A), the following attributes of MUSIM suspension (including but not limited to) ... MUSIM suspension cause (e.g. Voice call on other SIM instance, High Priority Data on other SIM instance etc) Suspended RRC state preference indicating the preferred suspended state for UE SIM instance (1) (e.g. RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE) Proposed suspension duration for the CONNECTED state activity on SIM instance (1), after which the suspended SIM instance can be resumed implicitly (if need be) or moved to RRC IDLE state (if the suspended SIM instance state was previously RRC INACTIVE)
0 3 Conclusions: ... Observations 1, 2, 5 ... Proposals 2, 3, 4, 5
Conclusion
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UMAIR AHSAN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2647
/UMAIR AHSAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647
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