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 .
Response to Amendment
This action is in response to the amendment filed on 4/29/2026. Claims 4, 6-9, 11-24, 29, 31, 34-36 and 39-41 have been canceled and claims 1-3, 5, 10, 12, 25, 27-28, 30, 32-33 and 37-38 are pending in the application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-3, 5, 10, 25, 27-28, 30, 32-33, 37-38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
As claims 1, 10 and 25, “a target information identification” is vague and indefinite because it is unclear if it is same as “a preset target information identification”. Please clarify so metes and bound of the claims can be determined.
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 w-hich the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 10, 25, 27-28, 30, 32 and 37 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang [US 2022/0061020 which claims priority on provisional application 63/068210] in view of Wang [US 2019/0320443].
As claims 1, 10 and 25, Wang discloses a method for sending system information, performed by a first terminal, wherein the first terminal is in communication connection with a base station and at least one second terminal respectively [Fig 7, Ref 710 is base station, Ref 702 is first UE and Ref 708 is at least one second UE], and the method comprises: receiving a short message transmitted on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) sent by the base station using radio network temporary identity (P-RNTI) [Fig 4, 407, 409 discloses first UE receives a short message via PDCCH which scrambles with P-RNTI form base station, Fig 6, Par. 0089], wherein the short message comprises system information [Par. 0055-0056, 0103-0107 disclose short message includes system information], and the short message carries an information notification [Par. 0055-0056, 0102-0107 disclose short message includes information notification such as updated, emergency etc..]; obtaining the updated information of system information corresponding to the short message [Par. 0055-0056, 0089-0092, 0102-0107, 0115 disclose a updated information of the system information which includes target UE ID from short message]; determining one or more target second terminals based on the updated information of the system information [Par. 0055-0056, 0089-0092, 0103-0107 disclose based on the updated information of system information from the short message, the relay UE relay data to the target UE]; and sending the updated information of the system information to the one or more target second terminals [Par. 0055-0056, 0089-0092, 0103-0107, 0113, discloses relay UE send paging which includes an emergency message notification and a system message modification notification via sidelink to target UE]. However, Wang fail to disclose receiving a preset target information identification sent by a second terminal, wherein the preset target information identification indicates system information required by the second terminal; wherein determining the one or more target second terminals based on the updated information of the system information comprises: in a case that the updated information of the system information comprises an MIB and/or a first system information block (SIB1), determining one or more second terminals in communication connection with the first terminal as the one or more target second terminals: or in a case that the updated information of the system information does not comprise an MIB and/or an SIB1, determining the one or more target second terminals based on the updated information of the system information and preset target information identifications of second terminals, wherein a second terminal is determined as a target second terminal in a case that a target information identification of the second terminal corresponds to the updated information of the system information. In the same field of endeavor, Wang [US 2019/0320443] discloses receiving a preset target information identification sent by a second terminal, wherein the preset target information identification indicates system information required by the second terminal [Par. 0026, 0067, 0078 discloses the second send a required SI to the first terminal]; wherein determining the one or more target second terminals based on the updated information of the system information comprises: in a case that the updated information of the system information comprises an MIB and/or a first system information block (SIB1), determining one or more second terminals in communication connection with the first terminal as the one or more target second terminals [Par. 0100-0102, 0138 discloses the first determining if updated system information includes MIB or SIB1]; or in a case that the updated information of the system information does not comprise an MIB and/or an SIB1, determining the one or more target second terminals based on the updated information of the system information and preset target information identifications of second terminals, wherein a second terminal is determined as a target second terminal in a case that a target information identification of the second terminal corresponds to the updated information of the system information [Par. 0117-0120 send requested updated information of the system information].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to apply a method and system for receiving a preset target information identification sent by a second terminal, wherein the preset target information identification indicates system information required by the second terminal; wherein determining the one or more target second terminals based on the updated information of the system information comprises: in a case that the updated information of the system information comprises an MIB and/or a first system information block (SIB1), determining one or more second terminals in communication connection with the first terminal as the one or more target second terminals; or in a case that the updated information of the system information does not comprise an MIB and/or an SIB1, determining the one or more target second terminals based on the updated information of the system information and preset target information identifications of second terminals, wherein a second terminal is determined as a target second terminal in a case that a target information identification of the second terminal corresponds to the updated information of the system information as disclosed by Wang ‘443 into the system of Wang ‘020. The motivation would have been to extension network coverage and improve throughput.
As claims 2 and 27, Wang discloses obtaining the system information corresponding to the short message comprises: obtaining the updated information of the system information, in a case that the information notification is the system message modification notification; obtaining the emergency message content, in a case that the information notification is the emergency message notification [Par. 0055-0056, 0088, 0104, 0107, 0112, 0119 discloses obtain update system information based on modification notification, ETWS based on emergency notification].
As claims 3 and 28, Wang discloses sending the short message to the one or more target second terminals by unicasting or multicasting [Par. 0055-0056 send paging message using unicast or groupcast].
As claims 5 and 30, Wang discloses sending the short message to the one or more target second terminals by at least one of unicasting or multicasting based on the one or more target second terminals comprising at least two second terminals [Par. 0055-0056, 0097 send paging message using unicast or groupcast to one or more target terminals].
As claims 32 and 37, Wang discloses the system information is divided into an MIB and a plurality of SIBs [Par. 0079 discloses system information includes MIB and SIBs].
Claim(s) 33 and 38 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang ‘020 and Wang ‘443 as applied to claims 1 and 25 above, and further in view of Sen [US 2018/0279110].
As claims 33 and 38, Wang ‘020 and Wang ‘443 fail to disclose what Sen discloses obtaining the emergency message content comprises: obtaining the emergency message content from part of the plurality of SIBs [Par. 0127 discloses SIBs for ETWS and CMAS].
Since, it is well known in the art SIBs content for ETWS and CMAS. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to apply a method and system for including ETWS and CMAS into SIBs as disclosed by Sen into the teaching of Wang ‘020 and Wang ‘443. The motivation would have been to extension network coverage and improve throughput.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 10, 25, 27-28, 30, 32 and 37 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang [US 2022/0061021 which claims priority of provisional application 63/068171] in view of Wang [US 2019/0320443].
As claims 1, 10 and 25, Wang discloses a method for sending system information, performed by a first terminal, wherein the first terminal is in communication connection with a base station and at least one second terminal respectively [Fig 7, Ref 1006 is base station, Ref 1004 is first UE and Ref 1002 is at least one second UE], and the method comprises: receiving a short message transmitted on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) sent by the base station using radio network temporary identity (P-RNTI) [Fig 10 discloses first UE receives a short message via PDCCH which scrambles with P-RNTI form base station, Par. 0072-0074], wherein the short message comprises system information [Par. 0058 discloses short message includes system information, Par. 0072-0074], and the short message carries an information notification [Par. 0058, 0090, 0094 discloses short message includes information notification such as updated, emergency etc.., Par. 0072-0074]; obtaining the updated information of system information corresponding to the short message [Par. 0072-0074 disclose a updated information of the system information which includes target UE ID from short message]; determining one or more target second terminals based on the updated information of the system information [Par. Fig 14, Ref 1415]; and sending the updated information of the system information to the one or more target second terminals [Fig 10, Ref 1015, discloses relay UE send paging which includes an emergency message notification and a system message modification notification via sidelink to target UE]. However, Wang fail to disclose receiving a preset target information identification sent by a second terminal, wherein the preset target information identification indicates system information required by the second terminal; wherein determining the one or more target second terminals based on the updated information of the system information comprises: in a case that the updated information of the system information comprises an MIB and/or a first system information block (SIB1), determining one or more second terminals in communication connection with the first terminal as the one or more target second terminals: or in a case that the updated information of the system information does not comprise an MIB and/or an SIB1, determining the one or more target second terminals based on the updated information of the system information and preset target information identifications of second terminals, wherein a second terminal is determined as a target second terminal in a case that a target information identification of the second terminal corresponds to the updated information of the system information. In the same field of endeavor, Wang [US 2019/0320443] discloses receiving a preset target information identification sent by a second terminal, wherein the preset target information identification indicates system information required by the second terminal [Par. 0026, 0067, 0078 discloses the second send a required SI to the first terminal]; wherein determining the one or more target second terminals based on the updated information of the system information comprises: in a case that the updated information of the system information comprises an MIB and/or a first system information block (SIB1), determining one or more second terminals in communication connection with the first terminal as the one or more target second terminals [Par. 0100-0102, 0138 discloses the first determining if updated system information includes MIB or SIB1]; or in a case that the updated information of the system information does not comprise an MIB and/or an SIB1, determining the one or more target second terminals based on the updated information of the system information and preset target information identifications of second terminals, wherein a second terminal is determined as a target second terminal in a case that a target information identification of the second terminal corresponds to the updated information of the system information [Par. 0117-0120 send requested updated information of the system information].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to apply a method and system for receiving a preset target information identification sent by a second terminal, wherein the preset target information identification indicates system information required by the second terminal; wherein determining the one or more target second terminals based on the updated information of the system information comprises: in a case that the updated information of the system information comprises an MIB and/or a first system information block (SIB1), determining one or more second terminals in communication connection with the first terminal as the one or more target second terminals; or in a case that the updated information of the system information does not comprise an MIB and/or an SIB1, determining the one or more target second terminals based on the updated information of the system information and preset target information identifications of second terminals, wherein a second terminal is determined as a target second terminal in a case that a target information identification of the second terminal corresponds to the updated information of the system information as disclosed by Wang ‘443 into the system of Wang ‘021. The motivation would have been to extension network coverage and improve throughput.
As claims 2 and 27, Wang discloses obtaining the system information corresponding to the short message comprises: obtaining the updated information of the system information, in a case that the information notification is the system message modification notification; obtaining the emergency message content, in a case that the information notification is the emergency message notification [Par. 0070, 0074 discloses obtain update system information based on modification notification, ETWS based on emergency notification].
As claims 3 and 28, Wang discloses sending the system information to the one or more target second terminals further comprises: sending the short message to the one or more target second terminals by unicasting or multicasting [Par. 0074, 0099, 0156 send paging message using unicast or groupcast].
As claims 5 and 30, Wang discloses sending the system information to the one or more target second terminals further comprises: sending the short message to the one or more target second terminals by at least one of unicasting or multicasting based on the one or more target second terminals comprising at least two second terminals [Par. 0074, 0099, 0156, send paging message using unicast or multicast to one or more target terminals].
As claims 32 and 37, Wang discloses the system information is divided into an MIB and a plurality of SIBs [Par. 0084].
Claim(s) 33 and 38 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang ‘443 and Wang ‘021 as applied to claims 1 and 25 above, and further in view of Cheng [US 2023/02224802].
As claims 33 and 38, Wang ‘443 and Wang ‘021 fail to disclose what Cheng discloses obtaining the emergency message content comprises: obtaining the emergency message content from part of the plurality of SIBs [Par. 0090 discloses SIBs for ETWS and CMAS].
Since, it is well known in the art SIBs content for ETWS and CMAS. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to apply a method and system for including ETWS and CMAS into SIBs as disclosed by Cheng into the teaching of Ji, Kim and Wang. The motivation would have been to extension network coverage and improve throughput.
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 STEVEN HIEU D NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-3159. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5.
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, Edan Orgad can be reached at 571-272-7884. 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.
/STEVEN HIEU D NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2414
Prosecution Insights