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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-6 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 § 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 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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1, 3, and 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (US 10575356 B2) in view of Inoue et al. (US 20100128620, hereinafter “Inoue”).
Regarding claims 1 and 6, Wu discloses:
A first communication device in a dual connectivity comprising: (Column 3 row 1-2: A process 30 in FIG. 3 is utilized in a network comprising a first BS and a second BS)
a transmitter configured to transmit a connection request to a second communication device in the dual connectivity; (Column 3 row 10-14: Step 304: The first BS transmits a first SN Addition Request message to the second BS, to configure the second BS as a first SN for the first UE, wherein the first SN Addition Request message comprises the first plurality of UE capabilities.)
a receiver configured to receive connection permission from the second communication device; (Column 3 row 25-28: Step 310: The second BS transmits a first SN Addition Request Acknowledge message comprising the first SCG configuration to the first BS in response to the first SN Addition Request message.)
and a processor configured to establish a first connection to the second communication device (Column 3 row 18-21: Step 308: The second BS generates a first Secondary Cell Group (SCG) configuration configuring the first UE to connect to a first cell of the second BS in DC with the first BS and the second BS), wherein the processor controls a communication of a terminal (Column 3 row 29-31: Step 312: The first BS generates a first radio resource control (RRC) message comprising the first SCG configuration, and transmits the first RRC message to the first UE; In one example, the first BS receives a first RRC response message (e.g., LTE RRC Connection Reconfiguration Complete message) from the first UE)
Wu does not disclose:
the receiver receives recommendation information related to installation of the first communication device from the second communication device.
However, Inoue discloses:
the receiver receives recommendation information related to installation of the first communication device from the second communication device. ([0073] – [0074] The mobile station 6 obtains propagation state data such as a path loss of a pilot signal transmitted from the macro base station 2#1, measures the location information of the own mobile station apparatus by means of GPS, etc., (Step S104), and transmits the measurement results to the home base station 3 (Step S105). The home base station 3 (second communication device) transmits the received measurement results to the requestor macro base station 2#1 (first communication device) via the network 1 (Steps S106, S107))
It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling
date of the claimed invention, to modify the teachings of Wu with the teachings of Inoue, to
include the receiver receives recommendation information related to installation of the first communication device from the second communication device. The motivation would have been to provide a mobile communications system, a base station apparatus, a mobile station apparatus, and a propagation state collecting method that make it possible for a mobile station which resides within an area covered by a base station (regardless of whether it is a macro base station or a home base station) to obtain the propagation state of a wireless signal from a surrounding base station (regardless of whether it is a macro base station or a home base station) as well as location information for a measurement location. (Inoue ¶ [0011])
Regarding claim 3, Wu discloses:
wherein the receiver receives the recommendation information together with the connection permission. (Step 310: The second BS transmits a first SN Addition Request Acknowledge message (e.g., connection permission) comprising the first SCG configuration (e.g., recommendation information) to the first BS in response to the first SN Addition Request message.)
Regarding claim 5, Wu discloses:
wherein the processor performs control related to transmission and reception, based on the recommendation information. (Step 312: The first BS generates a first radio resource control (RRC) message comprising the first SCG configuration, and transmits the first RRC message to the first UE; In one example, the first BS receives a first RRC response message (e.g., LTE RRC Connection Reconfiguration Complete message) from the first UE)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 4 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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 NHU PHAM whose telephone number is (703)756-4511. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday: 8:30 am - 5 pm.
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, Jae Y. Lee can be reached at (571) 270-3936. 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.
/NHU PHAM/Examiner, Art Unit 2479 /JAE Y LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2479
Prosecution Insights