DETAILED ACTION
This application has been examined. Claims 1-20 are pending.
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 .
Making Final
Applicant's arguments filed 7/7/2025 have been fully considered but they are moot in view of the new grounds for rejection.
The claim amendments regarding -- ‘determining whether an interface link between the master node and the secondary node has been established based on the first reporting data and the second reporting data’ -- clearly change the literal scope of the independent and dependent claims and/or the range of equivalents for such claims. The said amendments alter the scope of the claims but do not overcome the disclosure by the prior art as shown below.
The Examiner is presenting new grounds for rejection as necessitated by the claim amendments and is thus making this action FINAL.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7/7/2025 have been fully considered but they are moot in view of the new grounds for rejection.
Vivanco-Teyeb disclosed (re. Claim 1) determining whether an interface link between the master node and the secondary node has been established (Teyeb-Paragraph 229 , initiates Xn/X2 interface if not already existing and if supported by the neighbour node) based on the first reporting data (Vivanco-Column 10 Lines 40-45, user equipment 230 can perform measurements relating to the neighboring network nodes (e.g., measurements of signal strengths thereof) and provide corresponding measurement reports to the network node 205 (e.g., eNB1)) and the second reporting data (Vivanco-Column 12 Lines 15-20, network node addition request (for dual connectivity) can be triggered (280a of FIG. 2C) by a measurement report (e.g., a B1 measurement report), regarding one or more secondary network nodes (e.g., the network node 226 (e.g., a gNB or NR cell) )
Regarding Claim 4,11,18
While Vivanco-Teyeb substantially disclosed the claimed invention Vivanco-Teyeb does not disclose (re. Claim 4,11,18) determine whether the interface link has been established by determining that the interface link does not exist in response to the first measurement data and the second measurement data indicating that a threshold number of user equipment (UEs) are receiving a signal at each of the master node and the secondary node
Yao Paragraph 238 disclosed wherein service producer may utilize machine learning to identify patterns related to these measurements such as nodes receiving many requests, nodes successfully completing requests, and/or metrics related to handover.
Yao disclosed (re. Claim 4,11,18) determine whether the interface link has been established by determining that the interface link does not exist in response to the first measurement data and the second measurement data indicating that a threshold number of user equipment (UEs) are receiving a signal at each of the master node and the secondary node ( Yao-Paragraph 238,service producer may utilize machine learning to identify patterns related to these measurements such as nodes receiving many requests, nodes successfully completing requests, and/or metrics related to handover.)
Vivanco and Yao are analogous art because they present concepts and practices regarding determination of handover nodes. Before the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to combine Yao into Vivanco-Teyeb. The motivation for the said combination would have been to enable generating recommendations and/or node selections for load balancing between network nodes and/or to reduce network latency.(Yao-Paragraph Paragraph 238)
Priority
This application claims benefits of priority from PCT Application PCT/US2023/025555 filed June 16, 2023.
The effective date of the claims described in this application is June 16, 2023.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3,5-10,12-17,19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vivanco (US Patent 11290928) further in view of Teyeb (USPGPUB 2022/0264383)
Regarding Claim 1
Vivanco Column 8 Lines 50-55,Column 2 Lines 25-30 disclosed managing a mapping of neighbor relations in a neighbor list of a network node based on multiple of such weighting factors and corresponding pairings of network nodes to enable selections of handover target network nodes (e.g., intelligent decisions on handover targets) that are likely to provide suitable dual connectivity coverage for the user equipment.
Vivanco disclosed (re. Claim 1) a system comprising: a non-transitory computer readable medium configured to store instructions thereon; and a processor connected to the non-transitory computer readable medium, wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions for:
receiving first reporting data associated with a master node for a first group of users;(Vivanco-Column 10 Lines 40-45, user equipment 230 can perform measurements relating to the neighboring network nodes (e.g., measurements of signal strengths thereof) and provide corresponding measurement reports to the network node 205 (e.g., eNB1))
receiving second reporting data associated with a secondary node for a second group of users; (Vivanco-Column 12 Lines 15-20, network node addition request (for dual connectivity) can be triggered (280a of FIG. 2C) by a measurement report (e.g., a B1 measurement report), regarding one or more secondary network nodes (e.g., the network node 226 (e.g., a gNB or NR cell) )
and
establishing the interface link between the master node and the secondary node, in response to a determination that the handover target network node is likely to result in suitable dual connectivity coverage for the user equipment, based on data relating to the user equipment.(Vivanco-Column 9 Lines 60-65, network node 205 can establish a connection (e.g., over one or more X2 interfaces) with one or more of such neighboring network nodes to facilitate handovers and/or provision of dual connectivity.)
While Vivanco substantially disclosed the claimed invention Vivanco does not disclose (re. Claim 1)
determining whether an interface link between the master node and the secondary node has been established; and
establishing the interface link between the master node and the secondary node, in response to a determination that the interface link is not established.
Teyeb Paragraph 229 disclosed wherein cell global identities (CGI) reporting is usually triggered just before handover so that the source node knows to which neighbour node the cell belongs, and initiates Xn/X2 interface (if not already existing and if supported by the neighbour node).
Teyeb disclosed (re. Claim 1) determining whether an interface link between the master node and the secondary node has been established; (Teyeb-Paragraph 229 , initiates Xn/X2 interface if not already existing and if supported by the neighbour node)
and
establishing the interface link between the master node and the secondary node, in response to a determination that the interface link is not established. (Teyeb-Paragraph 229 , initiates Xn/X2 interface if not already existing and if supported by the neighbour node)
Vivanco and Teyeb are analogous art because they present concepts and practices regarding determination of handover nodes. Before the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to combine Teyeb into Vivanco. The motivation for the said combination would have been to ensure that the UE will be handed over only when needed and towards the node/cell that offers it the best conditions.(Teyeb-Paragraph 166)
Vivanco-Teyeb disclosed (re. Claim 1) determining whether an interface link between the master node and the secondary node has been established (Teyeb-Paragraph 229 , initiates Xn/X2 interface if not already existing and if supported by the neighbour node) based on the first reporting data (Vivanco-Column 10 Lines 40-45, user equipment 230 can perform measurements relating to the neighboring network nodes (e.g., measurements of signal strengths thereof) and provide corresponding measurement reports to the network node 205 (e.g., eNB1)) and the second reporting data (Vivanco-Column 12 Lines 15-20, network node addition request (for dual connectivity) can be triggered (280a of FIG. 2C) by a measurement report (e.g., a B1 measurement report), regarding one or more secondary network nodes (e.g., the network node 226 (e.g., a gNB or NR cell) )
Regarding Claim 8
Claim 8 (re. method) recites substantially similar limitations as Claim 1. Claim 8 is rejected on the same basis as Claim 1.
Regarding Claim 15
Claim 15 (re. non-transitory computer readable medium) recites substantially similar limitations as Claim 1. Claim 15 is rejected on the same basis as Claim 1.
Regarding Claim 2,9,16
Vivanco-Teyeb disclosed (re. Claim 2,9,16) wherein the interface link comprises an X2 interface link. (Vivanco-Column 9 Lines 60-65, network node 205 can establish a connection (e.g., over one or more X2 interfaces) with one or more of such neighboring network nodes to facilitate handovers and/or provision of dual connectivity.)
Regarding Claim 3,10,17
Vivanco-Teyeb disclosed (re. Claim 3,10,17) wherein the first reporting data includes Long Term Evolution (LTE) or fourth generation (4G) measurement data (Vivanco-Column 10 Lines 40-45, user equipment 230 can perform measurements relating to the neighboring network nodes (e.g., measurements of signal strengths thereof) and provide corresponding measurement reports to the network node 205 (e.g., eNB1)) and the second reporting data comprises fifth generation (5G) measurement data. (Vivanco-Column 12 Lines 15-20, network node addition request (for dual connectivity) can be triggered (280a of FIG. 2C) by a measurement report (e.g., a B1 measurement report), regarding one or more secondary network nodes (e.g., the network node 226 (e.g., a gNB or NR cell) )
Regarding Claim 5,12,19
Vivanco-Teyeb disclosed (re. Claim 5,12,19) creating a fingerprint to uniquely identify data in the first reporting data.(Teyeb-Paragraph 188, CGI is a globally unique identifier for a base station (e.g., eNB or gNB), and includes four parts: Mobile Country Code (MCC), Mobile Network Code (MNC), Location Area Code (LAC), and Cell Identification (CI). For eNBs, the CGI is referred to as “eCGI” and also includes an eNB-ID.)
Regarding Claim 6,13
Vivanco-Teyeb-Yao disclosed (re. Claim 6,13) wherein the master node is capable of providing service for a first coverage area, and the secondary node is capable of providing service for a second coverage area within the first coverage area.(Vivanco-Figure 2A,Column 10 Lines 35-40, user equipment 230 is located within coverage ranges of neighboring network nodes 215 (e.g., eNB2), 225 (e.g., eNB3), 206 (e.g., gNB1), 216 (e.g., gNB2), and 226 (gNB3))
Regarding Claim 7,14,20
Vivanco-Teyeb disclosed (re. Claim 7,14,20) comparing first data elements from the first reporting data corresponding to a first fingerprint with second data elements from the second reporting data corresponding to the first fingerprint.(Teyeb-Paragraph 326, CU can compare the corresponding PCI for each particular cell in the first measurement report to one or more of the stored PCIs (i.e., in the NCRT).)
Claim(s) 4,11,18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vivanco (US Patent 11290928) further in view of Teyeb (USPGPUB 2022/0264383) further in view of Yao (USPGPUB 20220141751)
Regarding Claim 4,11,18
While Vivanco-Teyeb substantially disclosed the claimed invention Vivanco-Teyeb does not disclose (re. Claim 4,11,18) determine whether the interface link has been established by determining that the interface link does not exist in response to the first measurement data and the second measurement data indicating that a threshold number of user equipment (UEs) are receiving a signal at each of the master node and the secondary node
Yao Paragraph 238 disclosed wherein service producer may utilize machine learning to identify patterns related to these measurements such as nodes receiving many requests, nodes successfully completing requests, and/or metrics related to handover.
Yao disclosed (re. Claim 4,11,18) determine whether the interface link has been established by determining that the interface link does not exist in response to the first measurement data and the second measurement data indicating that a threshold number of user equipment (UEs) are receiving a signal at each of the master node and the secondary node ( Yao-Paragraph 238,service producer may utilize machine learning to identify patterns related to these measurements such as nodes receiving many requests, nodes successfully completing requests, and/or metrics related to handover.)
Vivanco and Yao are analogous art because they present concepts and practices regarding determination of handover nodes. Before the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to combine Yao into Vivanco-Teyeb. The motivation for the said combination would have been to enable generating recommendations and/or node selections for load balancing between network nodes and/or to reduce network latency.(Yao-Paragraph Paragraph 238)
Conclusion
Examiner’s Note: In the case of amending the claimed invention, Applicant is respectfully requested to indicate the portion(s) of the specification which dictate(s) the structure relied on for proper interpretation and also to verify and ascertain the metes and bounds of the claimed invention.
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 GREG C BENGZON whose telephone number is (571)272-3944. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday 8 AM - 4:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, John Follansbee can be reached on (571) 272-3964. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GREG C BENGZON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2444