DETAILED ACTION
The action is responsive to communications filed on 03/09/2026. Claims 1-14 and 18-23 remain pending for evaluation.
Note: The claims are presented with independent claims listed first in numerical order, followed by dependent claims also in numerical order; any dual or mirror claims are grouped with the lowest-numbered claim in their respective pairing.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 03/09/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed on 03/09/2026 has been entered. Independent Claim 1 has been amended. Claims 1-14 and 18-23 remain pending for evaluation.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to Claim(s) 1-14 and 18-23 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1, 7, and 18-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jin et al. (US 2020/0145878), Jin2 hereinafter.
Regarding Claim 1, Jin2 teaches an information transmission method, applied to a first access network device, comprising (Fig. 10, Para. [0178-0191]; See also Fig. 1, Para. [0091-0092]; Fig. 2, Para. [0093-0097]; Fig. 3, Para. [0098-0110]; Fig. 4, Para. [0111-0117]; Fig. 5, Para. [0118-0125]; Fig.6, Para. [0126-0138]; Fig. 7, Para. [0139-0151]; Fig. 8, Para. [0152-0161]; Fig. 9, Para. [0162-077]; Fig. 10, Para. [0178-0191]; Fig. 11, Para. [0192-0217]; Fig. 12, Para. [0218-0226]):
in a case that a terminal enters an in inactive state, sending a connection release message to the terminal (Fig. 10, S805, Para. [0178-0191] - [0178] FIG. 10 is another flowchart of implementation of determining, by a first base station, a communication status of a terminal in an inactive state according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 10, the following steps are included.…[0187] S805. The first base station sends, to the terminal in the inactive state, indication information that is used to indicate that the communication status of the terminal in the inactive state is the idle state. The indication information that is used to indicate that the communication status of the terminal in the inactive state is the idle state may be sent by using a second request response message. [0188] For example, the first base station may send an RRC connection release message to the terminal in the inactive state; See also Fig. 1, Para. [0091-0092]; Fig. 2, Para. [0093-0097]; Fig. 3, Para. [0098-0110]; Fig. 4, Para. [0111-0117]; Fig. 5, Para. [0118-0125]; Fig.6, Para. [0126-0138]; Fig. 7, Para. [0139-0151]; Fig. 8, Para. [0152-0161]; Fig. 9, Para. [0162-077]; Fig. 10, Para. [0178-0191]; Fig. 11, Para. [0192-0217]; Fig. 12, Para. [0218-0226]);
sending, by the first access network device, at least one of the following information to at least one second access network device:
first information, wherein the first information indicates a radio access network (RAN) notification area configuration of the terminal (Fig. 4, S201a, Para. [0111-0117] - [0111] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of implementation of obtaining, by a first base station, RNA information by using a first request response message according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 4, the following steps are included. [0112] S201a. The first base station sends a first request message to a second base station. [0113] In this embodiment of this application, the first request message sent by the first base station to the second base station may include identity information allocated by a network side to a terminal in an inactive state. The identity information of the terminal in the inactive state may be understood as information for uniquely identifying the inactive terminal in an RNA range. In addition, an anchor base station of the inactive terminal can find, by using the identity information, context information corresponding to the terminal. The identity information is referred to as a resume ID in the following description; See also Fig. 1, Para. [0091-0092]; Fig. 2, Para. [0093-0097]; Fig. 3, Para. [0098-0110]; Fig. 4, Para. [0111-0117]; Fig. 5, Para. [0118-0125]; Fig.6, Para. [0126-0138]; Fig. 7, Para. [0139-0151]; Fig. 8, Para. [0152-0161]; Fig. 9, Para. [0162-077]; Fig. 10, Para. [0178-0191]; Fig. 11, Para. [0192-0217]; Fig. 12, Para. [0218-0226]);
second information, wherein the second information indicates the second access network device to disconnect from the terminal (Fig. 10, S806, Para. [0178-0191] - [0189] S806. The first base station sends a context release request message or first indication information to the second base station, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first base station sets the communication status of the terminal in the inactive state to the idle state, so that the second base station can release the context information related to the terminal whose context information fails to be obtained by the second base station or release a connection between a core network and the base station that is related to the terminal whose context information fails to be obtained by the second base station; See also Fig. 1, Para. [0091-0092]; Fig. 2, Para. [0093-0097]; Fig. 3, Para. [0098-0110]; Fig. 4, Para. [0111-0117]; Fig. 5, Para. [0118-0125]; Fig.6, Para. [0126-0138]; Fig. 7, Para. [0139-0151]; Fig. 8, Para. [0152-0161]; Fig. 9, Para. [0162-077]; Fig. 10, Para. [0178-0191]; Fig. 11, Para. [0192-0217]; Fig. 12, Para. [0218-0226]);
third information, wherein the third information indicates an identifier of the terminal (Fig. 10, S802, Para. [0178-0191] - [0182] S802. The first base station sends a first request message to a second base station, where the first request message may include the resume ID information. For example, the first base station sends context information including a resume ID…[0184] The second base station obtains context information of the terminal in the inactive state based on the resume ID included in the first request message. If the second base station fails to obtain the context information of the terminal in the inactive state, the second base station sends a context information retrieval failure message to the first base station; See also Fig. 1, Para. [0091-0092]; Fig. 2, Para. [0093-0097]; Fig. 3, Para. [0098-0110]; Fig. 4, Para. [0111-0117]; Fig. 5, Para. [0118-0125]; Fig.6, Para. [0126-0138]; Fig. 7, Para. [0139-0151]; Fig. 8, Para. [0152-0161]; Fig. 9, Para. [0162-077]; Fig. 10, Para. [0178-0191]; Fig. 11, Para. [0192-0217]; Fig. 12, Para. [0218-0226]).
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Figure 1: Fig. 10 from Jin2 (US 2020/0145878). Highlights indicate mappings to claim features.
Regarding Claim 7, Jin2 teaches an information transmission method, applied to a second access network device, comprising (Fig. 10, Para. [0178-0191]; See also Fig. 1, Para. [0091-0092]; Fig. 2, Para. [0093-0097]; Fig. 3, Para. [0098-0110]; Fig. 4, Para. [0111-0117]; Fig. 5, Para. [0118-0125]; Fig.6, Para. [0126-0138]; Fig. 7, Para. [0139-0151]; Fig. 8, Para. [0152-0161]; Fig. 9, Para. [0162-077]; Fig. 10, Para. [0178-0191]; Fig. 11, Para. [0192-0217]; Fig. 12, Para. [0218-0226]):
receiving at least one of the following information sent by a first access network device:
first information, wherein the first information indicates an RAN notification area configuration of a terminal (Fig. 4, S201a, Para. [0111-0117]; See also Fig. 1, Para. [0091-0092]; Fig. 2, Para. [0093-0097]; Fig. 3, Para. [0098-0110]; Fig. 4, Para. [0111-0117]; Fig. 5, Para. [0118-0125]; Fig.6, Para. [0126-0138]; Fig. 7, Para. [0139-0151]; Fig. 8, Para. [0152-0161]; Fig. 9, Para. [0162-077]; Fig. 10, Para. [0178-0191]; Fig. 11, Para. [0192-0217]; Fig. 12, Para. [0218-0226]);
second information, wherein the second information indicates at least one of the second access network device to disconnect from the terminal (Fig. 10, S806, Para. [0178-0191]; See also Fig. 1, Para. [0091-0092]; Fig. 2, Para. [0093-0097]; Fig. 3, Para. [0098-0110]; Fig. 4, Para. [0111-0117]; Fig. 5, Para. [0118-0125]; Fig.6, Para. [0126-0138]; Fig. 7, Para. [0139-0151]; Fig. 8, Para. [0152-0161]; Fig. 9, Para. [0162-077]; Fig. 10, Para. [0178-0191]; Fig. 11, Para. [0192-0217]; Fig. 12, Para. [0218-0226]);
third information, wherein the third information indicates an identifier of the terminal (Fig. 10, S802, Para. [0178-0191]; See also Fig. 1, Para. [0091-0092]; Fig. 2, Para. [0093-0097]; Fig. 3, Para. [0098-0110]; Fig. 4, Para. [0111-0117]; Fig. 5, Para. [0118-0125]; Fig.6, Para. [0126-0138]; Fig. 7, Para. [0139-0151]; Fig. 8, Para. [0152-0161]; Fig. 9, Para. [0162-077]; Fig. 10, Para. [0178-0191]; Fig. 11, Para. [0192-0217]; Fig. 12, Para. [0218-0226]).
Regarding Claim 18, Jin2 teaches Claim 1.
Jin2 further teaches
A first access network device, comprising: a first communication interface and a first processor; wherein the first communication interface is configured to perform an information transmission method according to claim 1 (Fig. 14, Para. [0241-0243]).
Regarding Claim 19, Jin2 teaches Claim 7.
Jin2 further teaches
A second access network device, comprising: a second communication interface and a second processor; wherein the second communication interface is configured to perform an information transmission method according to claim 7 (Fig. 16, Para. [0250-025]).
Regarding Claim 20, Jin2 teaches Claim 1.
Jin2 further teaches
A terminal, comprising: a third communication interface and a third processor; wherein the third communication interface is configured to perform an information transmission method according to claim 1 (Fig. 18, Para. [0257-0260]).
Regarding Claim 21, Jin2 teaches Claim 1.
Jin2 further teaches
A first access network device, comprising: a first processor and a first memory configured to store a computer program capable of running on the processor, wherein the first processor is configured to execute the steps of the method according to claim 1 when running the computer program. (Fig. 14, Para. [0241-0243]).
Regarding Claim 22, Jin2 teaches Claim 7.
Jin2 further teaches
A second communication device comprises: a second processor and a second memory configured to store a computer program capable of running on the processor, wherein the second processor is configured to execute the steps of the method according to claim 7 when running the computer program (Fig. 16, Para. [0250-025]).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 3-5, 9, 11-13, and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin2 in view of Jin et al. (US 2020/0120548, previously presented), Jin hereinafter.
Regarding Claim 11, Jin2 teaches information transmission method, applied to a terminal, comprising (Fig. 10, Para. [0178-0191]; See also Fig. 1, Para. [0091-0092]; Fig. 2, Para. [0093-0097]; Fig. 3, Para. [0098-0110]; Fig. 4, Para. [0111-0117]; Fig. 5, Para. [0118-0125]; Fig.6, Para. [0126-0138]; Fig. 7, Para. [0139-0151]; Fig. 8, Para. [0152-0161]; Fig. 9, Para. [0162-077]; Fig. 10, Para. [0178-0191]; Fig. 11, Para. [0192-0217]; Fig. 12, Para. [0218-0226]):
receiving a connection release message sent by a first access network device (Fig. 10, S805, Para. [0178-0191]; See also Fig. 1, Para. [0091-0092]; Fig. 2, Para. [0093-0097]; Fig. 3, Para. [0098-0110]; Fig. 4, Para. [0111-0117]; Fig. 5, Para. [0118-0125]; Fig.6, Para. [0126-0138]; Fig. 7, Para. [0139-0151]; Fig. 8, Para. [0152-0161]; Fig. 9, Para. [0162-077]; Fig. 10, Para. [0178-0191]; Fig. 11, Para. [0192-0217]; Fig. 12, Para. [0218-0226]),
Yet, Jin2 does not expressly teach wherein the terminal is connected to the first access network device and at least one second access network device and and the terminal support at least two network slices in at least two cells or frequency points simultaneously.
However, Jin teaches
wherein the terminal is connected to the first access network device and at least one second access network device (Fig. 4, Para. [0117] - FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a DC-based handover according to this application; See also Para. [0122, 0124, 0126, 0131]; Fig. 1, Para. [0115]; Fig. 2-3, Para. [0116]; Fig. 4, Para. [0117-0131]; Fig. 6, Para. [0132-0143]; Para. [0006, 0010, 0013-0014, 0018-0029, 0033, 0036-0037, 0041-0050]),
and the terminal support at least two network slices in at least two cells or frequency points simultaneously (Para. [0120] - Second, after obtaining the network slice information, the target base station may find a more suitable target cell or target base station for the UE during a next handover. For example, when the UE needs to perform a next handover, a network slice to which a session of the UE belongs is a network slice 1, and network slices that the current network allows the UE to access are the network slice 1, a network slice 2, and a network slice 3. In this case, when the UE needs to be handed over, when selecting a next target cell (or target base station) for the UE, the target base station (or target cell) (in this case, a target base station (or target cell) in a previous handover changes to a source base station (or source cell) in an upcoming handover) needs to consider a network slice that can be supported by the next target cell (or target base station). If a next target cell (or target base station) 1 supports the network slice 1, the network slice 2, and the network slice 3, and a next target cell (or target base station) 2 supports the network slice 1, the network slice 2, and a network slice 4, both the next target cell (or target base station) 1 and the next target cell (or target base station) 2 may be selected (or the same) if reference is made only to the network slice to which the current session of the UE belongs. However, if the network slices that the network allows the UE to access are considered, the target cell (or target base station) 1 may be preferentially selected as a next target, because the target cell (or target base station) may support more allowed network slices of the UE. Although the UE currently has no session of the network slice 3, the session may occur after the handover. If the UE is handed over to the next target cell (or target base station) 2, the target cell 2 does not support the UE in initiating the session of the network slice 3. However, the case does not occur when the UE is handed over to the next target cell (or target base station) 1. Third, the target base station receives a largest quantity of network slices supported by the UE or a largest quantity of network slices that can be simultaneously accessed by the UE. A session may be established for the UE based on the information, and if the UE hopes to establish a session in which a quantity of network slices exceeds the quantity, the target base station rejects the session.; See also Para. [0105, 0106, 0109]).
The examiner interprets Para. [0120] that the UE (i.e., terminal) can support at least 2 network slices (e.g., 3 network slices associated with the source base station, 3 network slices associated with target cell 1, and 3 network slices associated with target cell 2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Jin2’s invention of “a communication method and a communications device, so that a new RNA is allocated to a terminal in an inactive state after it is determined that a new RNA needs to be allocated to the terminal in the inactive state, thereby reducing signaling overheads” (Jin2 Para. [0005]) with Jin’s invention of a “handover method that is based on dual connectivity (DC) and a device” (Jin Para. [0002]) because Jin’s invention provides methods such that UE capability, such as “a UE aggregate maximum bit rate (UE-AMBR) and network slice information of UE” (Jin Para. [0005]) are “not exceeded during a DC-based handover” (Jin Para. [0005]).
Regarding Claims 3 and 9, Jin2 teaches Claims 1 and 7.
Yet, Jin2 does not expressly teach wherein the terminal support at least two network slices in at least two cells or frequency points simultaneously.
However, Jin teaches
wherein the terminal support at least two network slices in at least two cells or frequency points simultaneously (Para. [0120]; See also Para. [0105, 0106, 0109, 0120]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Jin2’s invention of “a communication method and a communications device, so that a new RNA is allocated to a terminal in an inactive state after it is determined that a new RNA needs to be allocated to the terminal in the inactive state, thereby reducing signaling overheads” (Jin2 Para. [0005]) with Jin’s invention of a “handover method that is based on dual connectivity (DC) and a device” (Jin Para. [0002]) because Jin’s invention provides methods such that UE capability, such as “a UE aggregate maximum bit rate (UE-AMBR) and network slice information of UE” (Jin Para. [0005]) are “not exceeded during a DC-based handover” (Jin Para. [0005]).
Regarding Claims 4 and 12, Jin2 in view of Jin teaches Claims 3 and 11.
Yet, Jin2 does not expressly teach receiving information of an allowed network slice sent by the first access network device, wherein the allowed network slice comprises a first network slice and the first access network device does not support the first network slice; the second access network device supports the first network slice; the terminal can access the second access network device through carrier aggregation or multi-connection.
However, Jin teaches
receiving information of an allowed network slice sent by the first access network device, wherein the allowed network slice comprises a first network slice (Fig. 4, S502; Para. [0120]; See also Para. [0105, 0106, 0109]);
the first access network device does not support the first network slice; the second access network device supports the first network slice; the terminal can access the second access network device through carrier aggregation or multi-connection (Fig. 4, S502; Para. [0120] - …If a next target cell (or target base station) 1 supports the network slice 1, the network slice 2, and the network slice 3, and a next target cell (or target base station) 2 supports the network slice 1, the network slice 2, and a network slice 4, both the next target cell (or target base station) 1 and the next target cell (or target base station) 2 may be selected (or the same) if reference is made only to the network slice to which the current session of the UE belongs. However, if the network slices that the network allows the UE to access are considered, the target cell (or target base station) 1 may be preferentially selected as a next target, because the target cell (or target base station) may support more allowed network slices of the UE. Although the UE currently has no session of the network slice 3, the session may occur after the handover. If the UE is handed over to the next target cell (or target base station) 2, the target cell 2 does not support the UE in initiating the session of the network slice 3. However, the case does not occur when the UE is handed over to the next target cell (or target base station) 1. Third, the target base station receives a largest quantity of network slices supported by the UE or a largest quantity of network slices that can be simultaneously accessed by the UE. A session may be established for the UE based on the information, and if the UE hopes to establish a session in which a quantity of network slices exceeds the quantity, the target base station rejects the session; See also Para. [0105, 0106, 0109]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Jin2’s invention of “a communication method and a communications device, so that a new RNA is allocated to a terminal in an inactive state after it is determined that a new RNA needs to be allocated to the terminal in the inactive state, thereby reducing signaling overheads” (Jin2 Para. [0005]) with Jin’s invention of a “handover method that is based on dual connectivity (DC) and a device” (Jin Para. [0002]) because Jin’s invention provides methods such that UE capability, such as “a UE aggregate maximum bit rate (UE-AMBR) and network slice information of UE” (Jin Para. [0005]) are “not exceeded during a DC-based handover” (Jin Para. [0005]).
Regarding Claim 5, Jin2 in view of Jin teaches Claim 3.
Yet, Jin2 does not expressly teach receiving a capability reported by the terminal, wherein the capability represents that the terminal simultaneously supports at least two network slices in at least two cells or frequency points.
However, Jin teaches
receiving a capability reported by the terminal, wherein the capability represents that the terminal simultaneously supports at least two network slices in at least two cells or frequency points (Para. [0073] - In one embodiment, the base station further includes a determining unit. The determining unit is configured to determine the handover type identifier based on a UE capability; Para. [0139] - …It may be understood that, when the handover request in S701 does not include indication information, the target base station may determine, based on a received UE capability, whether to use the DC-based handover, and a type of DC used for the handover….The target base station obtains, based on a UE capability sent by the source base station, whether the UE supports DC, and if the UE supports the DC, the target base station may determine to perform a DC-based handover; or if the UE does not support the DC, a DC-based handover cannot be performed; See also Para. [0092, 0095-0096, 0131, 0142]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Jin2’s invention of “a communication method and a communications device, so that a new RNA is allocated to a terminal in an inactive state after it is determined that a new RNA needs to be allocated to the terminal in the inactive state, thereby reducing signaling overheads” (Jin2 Para. [0005]) with Jin’s invention of a “handover method that is based on dual connectivity (DC) and a device” (Jin Para. [0002]) because Jin’s invention provides methods such that UE capability, such as “a UE aggregate maximum bit rate (UE-AMBR) and network slice information of UE” (Jin Para. [0005]) are “not exceeded during a DC-based handover” (Jin Para. [0005]).
Regarding Claim 13, Jin2 in view of Jin teaches Claim 11.
Yet, Jin2 does not expressly teach reporting a capability to the first access network device, wherein the capability represents that the terminal simultaneously supports at least two network slices in at least two cells or frequency points.
However, Jin teaches
reporting a capability to the first access network device, wherein the capability represents that the terminal simultaneously supports at least two network slices in at least two cells or frequency points (Para. [0073]; Para. [0139]; See also Para. [0092, 0095-0096, 0131, 0142]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Jin2’s invention of “a communication method and a communications device, so that a new RNA is allocated to a terminal in an inactive state after it is determined that a new RNA needs to be allocated to the terminal in the inactive state, thereby reducing signaling overheads” (Jin2 Para. [0005]) with Jin’s invention of a “handover method that is based on dual connectivity (DC) and a device” (Jin Para. [0002]) because Jin’s invention provides methods such that UE capability, such as “a UE aggregate maximum bit rate (UE-AMBR) and network slice information of UE” (Jin Para. [0005]) are “not exceeded during a DC-based handover” (Jin Para. [0005]).
Regarding Claim 23, Jin2 in view of Jin teaches Claim 11.
Jin2 further teaches
A terminal comprises: a third processor and a third memory configured to store a computer program capable of running on the processor, wherein the third processor is configured to execute the steps of the method according to claim 11 when running the computer program. (Fig. 18, Para. [0257-0260]).
Claim(s) 2, 6, 8, and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin2 in view of Fujishiro et al. (US 2023/0328692, previously presented), Fujishiro hereinafter.
Regarding Claims 2 and 8, Jin2 teaches Claims 1 and 7.
Yet, Jin2 does not expressly teach wherein the second information indicates at least one of the following: indicating the second access network device to suspend the connection with the terminal; indicating the second access network device to save a context of the terminal; indicating the second access network device to save the connection with a core network.
However, Fujishiro teaches
wherein the second information indicates at least one of the following: indicating the second access network device to suspend the connection with the terminal; indicating the second access network device to save a context of the terminal; indicating the second access network device to save the connection with a core network (Fig. 6, S6; Para. [0059] - In step S4, the eNB 200 and the MME 300C maintain the S1-MME connection. In step S5, the eNB 200 and the S-GW 300U maintain the S1-U connection. In step S6, the UE 100 transitions to the light connected state and suspends data communication with the eNB 200; See also Para. [0089, 0236, 0240-0241, 0245]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Jin2’s invention of “a communication method and a communications device, so that a new RNA is allocated to a terminal in an inactive state after it is determined that a new RNA needs to be allocated to the terminal in the inactive state, thereby reducing signaling overheads” (Jin2 Para. [0005]) with Fujishiro’s invention of “a receiver configured to receive a radio resource control (RRC) Release message from a base station included in a radio access network (RAN)” (Fujishiro Para. [0005]) because Fujishiro’s invention provides methods for a UE “to transition from the RRC connected state to the specific state in response to receiving the RRC Release message, perform a cell reselection operation when the user equipment is in the specific state, and perform, when the user equipment in the specific state, an operation of causing the user equipment to transition from the specific state to an RRC idle state in response to reselecting a cell not supporting the specific state” (Fujishiro Para. [0005]).
Regarding Claims 6 and 10, Jin2 teaches Claims 1 and 7.
Yet, Jin2 does not expressly teach using, in a case that downlink data is received, information of the RAN notification area configuration to initiate an RAN paging to the terminal.
However, Fujishiro teaches
using, in a case that downlink data is received, information of the RAN notification area configuration to initiate an RAN paging to the terminal (Fig. 9; Para. [0108-0117] - [0115] In step S303, the eNB 200 decides the range of the RAN paging area based on the mobility status information. The eNB 200 may notify the MME 300C of the list of cells (and eNBs) belonging to the determined RAN paging area; Fig. 11, S2008; Para. [0160] - In step S2008, the anchor eNB 200-1 and the eNB 200-2 transmit a paging message (RAN paging) addressed to the UE 100 within the RAN paging area configured to the UE 100. Here, the description will be given on the assumption that the UE 100 has failed to receive the paging message (Ran paging); See also Para. [0063-0064, 0080, 0095, 0102, 0119, 0133, 0135, 0137, 0139-0140, 0149-0150, 0152-0155, 0161, 0163-0164, 0174-0175, 0177-0178, 0190]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Jin2’s invention of “a communication method and a communications device, so that a new RNA is allocated to a terminal in an inactive state after it is determined that a new RNA needs to be allocated to the terminal in the inactive state, thereby reducing signaling overheads” (Jin2 Para. [0005]) with Fujishiro’s invention of “a receiver configured to receive a radio resource control (RRC) Release message from a base station included in a radio access network (RAN)” (Fujishiro Para. [0005]) because Fujishiro’s invention provides methods for a UE “to transition from the RRC connected state to the specific state in response to receiving the RRC Release message, perform a cell reselection operation when the user equipment is in the specific state, and perform, when the user equipment in the specific state, an operation of causing the user equipment to transition from the specific state to an RRC idle state in response to reselecting a cell not supporting the specific state” (Fujishiro Para. [0005]).
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin2 in view of Jin and Fujishiro.
Regarding Claim 14, Jin2 in view of Jin teaches Claim 11.
Yet, Jin2 nor Jin expressly teach receiving a RAN paging message initiated by the first access network device and/or the second access network device.
However, Fujishiro teaches
receiving a RAN paging message initiated by the first access network device and/or the second access network device (Fig. 9; Para. [0108-0117] - [0115] In step S303, the eNB 200 decides the range of the RAN paging area based on the mobility status information. The eNB 200 may notify the MME 300C of the list of cells (and eNBs) belonging to the determined RAN paging area; Fig. 11, S2008; Para. [0160] - In step S2008, the anchor eNB 200-1 and the eNB 200-2 transmit a paging message (RAN paging) addressed to the UE 100 within the RAN paging area configured to the UE 100. Here, the description will be given on the assumption that the UE 100 has failed to receive the paging message (Ran paging); See also Para. [0063-0064, 0080, 0095, 0102, 0119, 0133, 0135, 0137, 0139-0140, 0149-0150, 0152-0155, 0161, 0163-0164, 0174-0175, 0177-0178, 0190]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide receiving a RAN paging message initiated by the first access network device and/or the second access network device as taught by Fujishiro, in the combined system of Jin2/Jin, so that it would provide methods for a UE “to transition from the RRC connected state to the specific state in response to receiving the RRC Release message, perform a cell reselection operation when the user equipment is in the specific state, and perform, when the user equipment in the specific state, an operation of causing the user equipment to transition from the specific state to an RRC idle state in response to reselecting a cell not supporting the specific state” (Fujishiro Para. [0005]).
Conclusion
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/R.A.F./Examiner, Art Unit 2468
/Thomas R Cairns/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2468
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