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 .
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 1, 5, 7, 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (WO 2011020427 A1 dated 2011-02-24) in view of Ramamoorthy et al. (US 20150296356 A1 dated 2015-10-15), Hu et al. (EP 2858390 B1 dated 2018-01-03), hereinafter, Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu
As to claim 1, Zhang et al. (WO 2011020427 A1 dated 2011-02-24) discloses (Original) A terminal control method, applicable to a first base station, comprising: sending, in response of receiving a service request for an intended service from a terminal, a pre-switchover request carrying identification of the intended service to a second base station, wherein the second base station stores configuration information of the first base station, and the configuration information of the first base station is configured to indicate whether the first base station supports the intended service (Description, Page 4 - “Supporting the emergency service, the registration information of the user equipment, and the TAI information and/or the RAI information of the target cell, determining whether the target cell supports the emergency service of the user equipment; When the area supports the emergency service of the user equipment, the source base station device or the target mobility management entity is notified to perform a handover procedure;” Here, emergency service is an intended service for example as mentioned in the specification, paragraph [0026]); and
Zhang et al. does not explicitly recite but in an analogous art, Ramamoorthy et al. (US 20150296356 A1 dated 2015-10-15) discloses sending, in response of receiving a pre-switchover success information returned by the second base station, a switchover command to the terminal to enable the terminal to access the second base station and (Paragraph [0019] – “The method enables the UE to confirm emergency call handling support provided by of target CSG cell before initiating handover.”),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Zhang et al. to include the means to confirming emergency service supported by the target base station before being handed over by wireless network of Ramamoorthy et al. in order to avoid failure of the emergency service after the handover.
Zhang et al. does not explicitly recite but in an analogous art, Hu et al. (EP 2858390 B1 dated 2018-01-03) discloses to send terminal capability information wherein the terminal capability information is configured to indicate whether the terminal supports the intended services in a communication system to which the first base station belongs (Description, Page 4 - “After a UE is powered on to access to the eNB, the UE transmits an attach request (Attach Request) message carrying a UE identifier and indication information for indicating that the UE has the capability of supporting emergency service to a mobility management entity (Mobility Management Entity, MME)”);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Zhang et al. to include the means to the terminal supporting emergency service by wireless network of Hu et al. in order to avoid failure of the emergency service after the handover.
Zhang et al. (WO 2011020427 A1 dated 2011-02-24) discloses wherein the identification of the intended service, the configuration information of the first base station, and the terminal capability information are configured to keep the terminal accessing the second base station during the second base station handles the intended service for the terminal in case that the first base station does not support the intended service and the terminal does not support the intended service in the communication system to which the first base station belongs (Description, Page 4 - “when the target cell does not support the emergency service of the user equipment, the source base station device is notified to restart Selecting a target cell for the user equipment; the source base station device, configured to send a handover request message or an emergency service capability determination request message to the mobility management entity” It implies that the UE stays with the current serving base station until it finds a target base station with the capability of emergency or intended service).
As to claim 7, Zhang et al. (WO 2011020427 A1 dated 2011-02-24) discloses (Original) A terminal control method, applicable to a second base station storing configuration information of a first base station which is configured to indicate whether the first base station supports an intended service (Description, Page 4 - “Supporting the emergency service, the registration information of the user equipment, and the TAI information and/or the RAI information of the target cell, determining whether the target cell supports the emergency service of the user equipment; When the area supports the emergency service of the user equipment, the source base station device or the target mobility management entity is notified to perform a handover procedure;” Here, emergency service is an intended service for example as mentioned in the specification, paragraph [0026]),
Zhang et al. does not explicitly recite but in an analogous art, Ramamoorthy et al. (US 20150296356 A1 dated 2015-10-15) discloses the method comprising: returning pre-switchover success information to the first base station in response of receiving a pre-switchover request carrying identification of an intended service from the first base station, to enable the first base station to send a switchover command to a terminal, wherein the switchover command is configured to enable the terminal to access the second base station (Paragraph [0019] – “The method enables the UE to confirm emergency call handling support provided by of target CSG cell before initiating handover.”) and
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Zhang et al. to include the means to confirming emergency service supported by the target base station before being handed over by wireless network of Ramamoorthy et al. in order to avoid failure of the emergency service after the handover.
Zhang et al. does not explicitly recite but in an analogous art, Hu et al. (EP 2858390 B1 dated 2018-01-03) discloses to send terminal capability information which is configured to indicate whether the terminal supports the intended service or not in a communication system to which the first base station belongs (Description, Page 4 - “After a UE is powered on to access to the eNB, the UE transmits an attach request (Attach Request) message carrying a UE identifier and indication information for indicating that the UE has the capability of supporting emergency service to a mobility management entity (Mobility Management Entity, MME)”);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Zhang et al. to include the means to the terminal supporting emergency service by wireless network of Hu et al. in order to avoid failure of the emergency service after the handover.
Zhang et al. (WO 2011020427 A1 dated 2011-02-24) discloses keeping, during handling the intended service for the terminal, the terminal accessing the second base station according to the identification of the intended service, the terminal capability information, and the configuration information of the first base station in case that the first base station does not support the intended service and the terminal does not support the intended service in the communication system to which the first base station belongs (Description, Page 4 - “when the target cell does not support the emergency service of the user equipment, the source base station device is notified to restart Selecting a target cell for the user equipment; the source base station device, configured to send a handover request message or an emergency service capability determination request message to the mobility management entity” It implies that the UE stays with the current serving base station until it finds a target base station with the capability of emergency or intended service).
As to claim 5, Zhang et al. (WO 2011020427 A1 dated 2011-02-24) discloses (Previously Presented) The method according to claim 1, wherein the identification of the intended service is configured to keep the terminal accessing the second base station before the second base station connects the terminal to the intended service, and the configuration information of the first base station and the terminal capability information are configured to keep the terminal accessing the second base station during the second base station establishes the intended service for the terminal (Description, Page 4 - “when the target cell does not support the emergency service of the user equipment, the source base station device is notified to restart Selecting a target cell for the user equipment; the source base station device, configured to send a handover request message or an emergency service capability determination request message to the mobility management entity” It implies that the UE stays with the current serving base station until it finds a target base station with the capability of emergency or intended service).
As to claim 11, Zhang et al. (WO 2011020427 A1 dated 2011-02-24) discloses (Previously Presented) The method according to claim 7, wherein keeping the terminal accessing the second base station during handling the intended service for the terminal according to the identification of the intended service, the terminal capability information and the configuration information of the first base station, comprising: keeping the terminal accessing the second base station according to the identification of the intended service before connecting the terminal to the intended service, and keeping the terminal accessing the second base station during establishing the intended services for the terminal according to both the configuration information of the first base station and the terminal capability information (Description, Page 4 - “when the target cell does not support the emergency service of the user equipment, the source base station device is notified to restart Selecting a target cell for the user equipment; the source base station device, configured to send a handover request message or an emergency service capability determination request message to the mobility management entity” It implies that the UE stays with the current serving base station until it finds a target base station with the capability of emergency or intended service).
Claim 2, 3, 8, 9, 13, 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu as applied in claim 1, 7 and further in view of LI et al. (US 20180132297 dated 2018-05-10)
As to claim 2, The combination of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu does not explicitly recite but in an analogous art, LI et al. (US 20180132297 dated 2018-05-10) discloses (Original) The method according to claim 1, wherein sending, in response of receiving the service request for the intended service from the terminal, the pre- switchover request carrying the identification of the intended service to the second base station, comprising: sending, in response of receiving the service request for the intended service from the terminal, a pre-switchover request carrying identification of the intended service to the second base station according to transfer indication in the service request, so as to enable the second base station allocate reserved resources for switchover of the terminal with a high priority according to the identification of the intended service (Paragraph [0300] – [0303] “step 706, the terminal is switched to the target base station after determining D2D service selection information. the terminal judges whether the source base station does not support the D2D function, the target base station supports the D2D function, such as not supporting D2D indication in the system broadcast message is judged. terminal already in RRC connected state in target base station, determining the target base station eNB sends D2D service selection information. step 707, the terminal sends the target base station sends the D2D service option information comprises D2D service selection information.” Here, priority is taught when the terminal judges whether the source base station does not support the D2D function, the target base station supports the D2D function. The terminal gives high priority to the target base station when it supports the intended service).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu et al. to include the means to the terminal switching to the target base station after determining service selection information by wireless network of LI et al. in order to avoid failure of the intended service after the handover.
As to claim 3, The combination of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu does not explicitly recite but in an analogous art, LI et al. (US 20180132297 dated 2018-05-10) discloses (Original) The method according to claim 1, wherein the switchover command carries the identification of the intended service, which is configured to instruct the terminal to re-access the second base station and carry the identification of the intended service in access information in case that the terminal fails to access the second base station (Paragraph [0318] – [0324] “step 1, the terminal determines to send D2D service selection information. terminal already in RRC connected state, supports the D2D function and the function is available; terminal is D2D service selecting region of interest of D2D frequency, the frequency can be the terminal group (Group) corresponding to the frequency; the terminal decides to send D2D service option information to the eNB, information in access terminal D2D frequency information of interest. step 2, the terminal sends D2D service option information comprises D2D service selection information. the terminal sends a ProSeInterestIndication message to the eNB, and the message carries the D2D frequency of the terminal of interest. it can reuse an existing RRC message, such as MBMSInterestIndication message, related parameter identifier D2D is added in the message, such as indicated by the D2D service.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu et al. to include the means to reusing an existing RRC message to connect the terminal to the second base station by wireless network of LI et al. in order to reattempt connecting the terminal with the target/second base station.
As to claim 8, The combination of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu does not explicitly recite but in an analogous art, LI et al. (US 20180132297 dated 2018-05-10) discloses (Original) The method according to claim 7, wherein returning the pre-switchover success information to the first base station in response of receiving the pre-switchover request carrying the identification of the intended service from the first base station comprising: allocating reserved resource for switchover of the terminal with a high priority in response of receiving a pre-switchover request carrying identification of an intended service from the first base station, and returning pre-switchover success information to the first base station (Paragraph [0300] – [0303] “step 706, the terminal is switched to the target base station after determining D2D service selection information. the terminal judges whether the source base station does not support the D2D function, the target base station supports the D2D function, such as not supporting D2D indication in the system broadcast message is judged. terminal already in RRC connected state in target base station, determining the target base station eNB sends D2D service selection information. step 707, the terminal sends the target base station sends the D2D service option information comprises D2D service selection information.” Here, priority is taught when the terminal judges whether the source base station does not support the D2D function, the target base station supports the D2D function. The terminal gives high priority to the target base station when it supports the intended service).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu et al. to include the means to the terminal switching to the target base station after determining service selection information by wireless network of LI et al. in order to avoid failure of the intended service after the handover.
As to claim 9, The combination of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu does not explicitly recite but in an analogous art, LI et al. (US 20180132297 dated 2018-05-10) discloses (Original) The method according to claim 7, wherein the switchover command carries the identification of the intended service which is configured to instruct the terminal to re-access the second base station and carry the identification of the intended service identification in access information in case that the terminal fails to access the second base station (Paragraph [0318] – [0324] “step 1, the terminal determines to send D2D service selection information. terminal already in RRC connected state, supports the D2D function and the function is available; terminal is D2D service selecting region of interest of D2D frequency, the frequency can be the terminal group (Group) corresponding to the frequency; the terminal decides to send D2D service option information to the eNB, information in access terminal D2D frequency information of interest. step 2, the terminal sends D2D service option information comprises D2D service selection information. the terminal sends a ProSeInterestIndication message to the eNB, and the message carries the D2D frequency of the terminal of interest. it can reuse an existing RRC message, such as MBMSInterestIndication message, related parameter identifier D2D is added in the message, such as indicated by the D2D service.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu et al. to include the means to reusing an existing RRC message to connect the terminal to the second base station by wireless network of LI et al. in order to reattempt connecting the terminal with the target/second base station.
As to claim 13, The combination of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu does not explicitly recite but in an analogous art, LI et al. (US 20180132297 dated 2018-05-10) discloses (Currently Amended) A base station, comprising: a memory configured to store a computer program; and a processor, configured to execute the computer program, and to implement operations of the terminal control method according to claim 1, or to implement operations of the terminal control method according to claim 7 when executing the computer program (Paragraph [0331] – [0332] “In another embodiment, the invention further claims a storage medium, the storage medium is stored with the software, the storage medium including but not limited to, a compact disk, a floppy disk, a hard disk, erasable memory, etc.
Obviously, those skilled in the art shall understand that the above modules or steps of the present invention can be realized by using general purpose calculating device, which can be integrated on a single computing device or distributed in a plurality of computing devices on a network. Optionally, they can be realized by using computing device executable program code, and thus, they can be stored in a storage device to execute by a computing device, and in some cases, can be carried out in a different order shown or described steps. or they are made into various integrated circuit modules, or a plurality of modules or steps thereof are made into one integrated circuit module. Thus, the present invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu et al. to include the means to implementing operations of the terminal control method by wireless network of LI et al. in order to execute the computer program realizing the methods mentioned in the claims.
As to claim 14, The combination of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu does not explicitly recite but in an analogous art, LI et al. (US 20180132297 dated 2018-05-10) discloses (Currently Amended) A computer readable non-volatile storage medium, wherein the computer readable storage medium stores a computer program, the computer program when executed by a processor causes the processor to implement operations of the terminal control method according to claim 1, or, to implement operations of the terminal control method according to claim 7 (Paragraph [0331] – [0332] “In another embodiment, the invention further claims a storage medium, the storage medium is stored with the software, the storage medium including but not limited to, a compact disk, a floppy disk, a hard disk, erasable memory, etc.
Obviously, those skilled in the art shall understand that the above modules or steps of the present invention can be realized by using general purpose calculating device, which can be integrated on a single computing device or distributed in a plurality of computing devices on a network. Optionally, they can be realized by using computing device executable program code, and thus, they can be stored in a storage device to execute by a computing device, and in some cases, can be carried out in a different order shown or described steps. or they are made into various integrated circuit modules, or a plurality of modules or steps thereof are made into one integrated circuit module. Thus, the present invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu et al. to include the means to implementing operations of the terminal control method by wireless network of LI et al. in order to execute the computer program realizing the methods mentioned in the claims.
Claim 4, 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu as applied in claim 1, 7 and further in view of Miller et al. (US 20160150366 A1 dated 2016-05-26)
As to claim 4, The combination of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu does not explicitly recite but in an analogous art, Miller et al. (US 20160150366 A1 dated 2016-05-26) discloses (Original) The method according to claim 1, wherein the first base station stores terminal status information which is configured to indicate current service status of the terminal; after sending the switchover command to the terminal, comprising: controlling the terminal to re-access the second base station and instructing the terminal to carry the identification of the intended service in access information according to the terminal status information in case that the terminal fails to access the second base station and re-accesses the first base station (Paragraph [0032] – “Access node 300 also maintains, in its at least one memory device 304, one or more identifiers of the access node and or a cell served by the access node, for example, an eNodeB identifier (eNodeB ID), a cell identifier (Cell ID), an E-UTRAN Cell ID (ECI), or an E-UTRAN Cell Global Identifier (ECGI). As is known in the art, an access node such as an eNodeB may regularly broadcast such one or more identifiers in overhead messages, so that a UE residing in a coverage area served by the eNodeB can determine its serving eNodeB and/or associate measurements with an eNodeB sourcing the signal.” Here access node or cell/base station stores the information of the UE/terminal in its memory. Paragraph [0036] – “This can cause access delays for new arriving emergency responders, both in that they cannot access the network until the congestion is mitigated and they have to wait to an appropriate amount of time, for example, a time period associated with their access class, to again attempt to access the system after a failure of an initial attempt (due to congestion).” Here, ‘they cannot access the network’ means that a base station could not be accessed. Later on, it is reattempted to access the system/base station).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu et al. to include the means to reattempting to access the system as taught by wireless network of Miller et al. in order to avoid extra delay to make the call successfully.
As to claim 10, The combination of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu does not explicitly recite but in an analogous art, Miller et al. (US 20160150366 A1 dated 2016-05-26) discloses (Original) The method according to claim 7, wherein the first base station stores terminal status information which is configured to indicate current service status of the terminal; and the terminal status information is further configured to enable the first base station to control the terminal to re-access the second base station and to instruct the terminal to carry the identification of the intended service in access information in case that the terminal fails to access the second base station and re-accesses the first base station (Paragraph [0032] – “Access node 300 also maintains, in its at least one memory device 304, one or more identifiers of the access node and or a cell served by the access node, for example, an eNodeB identifier (eNodeB ID), a cell identifier (Cell ID), an E-UTRAN Cell ID (ECI), or an E-UTRAN Cell Global Identifier (ECGI). As is known in the art, an access node such as an eNodeB may regularly broadcast such one or more identifiers in overhead messages, so that a UE residing in a coverage area served by the eNodeB can determine its serving eNodeB and/or associate measurements with an eNodeB sourcing the signal.” Here access node or cell/base station stores the information of the UE/terminal in its memory. Paragraph [0036] – “This can cause access delays for new arriving emergency responders, both in that they cannot access the network until the congestion is mitigated and they have to wait to an appropriate amount of time, for example, a time period associated with their access class, to again attempt to access the system after a failure of an initial attempt (due to congestion).” Here, ‘they cannot access the network’ means that a base station could not be accessed. Later on, it is reattempted to access the system/base station).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu et al. to include the means to reattempting to access the system as taught by wireless network of Miller et al. in order to avoid extra delay to make the call successfully.
Claim 6, 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu as applied in claim 1, 7 and further in view of Cherian et al. (US 20210144778 A1 filed on Nov 9, 2020)
As to claim 6, The combination of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu does not explicitly recite but in an analogous art, Cherian et al. (US 20210144778 A1 filed on Nov 9, 2020) discloses (Currently Amended) The method according to claim 1, wherein the terminal has a higher priority for accessing the first base station than for accessing the second base station, and the intended service comprises an emergency call service (Paragraph [0017] – “In some implementations, the AP is a national security and emergency preparedness (NSEP) AP configured to support the priority access service in the first BSS managed by the NSEP AP.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu et al. to include the means to priority access to the first base station as taught by wireless network of Cherian et al. in order to let the UE access the first base station in case it fails to access the second base station.
As to claim 12, The combination of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu does not explicitly recite but in an analogous art, Cherian et al. (US 20210144778 A1 filed on Nov 9, 2020) discloses (Currently Amended) The method according to claim 7, wherein the terminal has a higher priority for accessing the first base station than for accessing the second base station, and the intended service comprises an emergency call service (Paragraph [0017] – “In some implementations, the AP is a national security and emergency preparedness (NSEP) AP configured to support the priority access service in the first BSS managed by the NSEP AP.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wireless network of Zhang-Ramamoorthy-Hu et al. to include the means to priority access to the first base station as taught by wireless network of Cherian et al. in order to let the UE access the first base station in case it fails to access the second base station.
Remarks/Arguments
All the remarks and arguments posted on 02/27/2026 have been reviewed.
In response to Applicant’s arguments that LI et al. (US 20180132297 A1 dated 2018-05-10) does not disclose distinguishing features, 1-4, the Examiner agrees and the rejections have been withdrawn. However, upon further search and consideration, Zhang et al. (WO 2011020427 A1 dated 2011-02-24), Ramamoorthy et al. (US 20150296356 A1 dated 2015-10-15) and Hu et al. (EP 2858390 B1 dated 2018-01-03) have been added to reject the limitations of the claim 1 and 7. The details are given above under the respecting claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABDULLAH AL MAMUN whose telephone number is (703)756-1273. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 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, Matthew Anderson can be reached at (571)272-4177. 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.
/ABDULLAH AL MAMUN/Examiner, Art Unit 2646
/MATTHEW D. ANDERSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2646