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 claim(s) 13-16, 19-32 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.
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) 13-15, 23-24, and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shah (US 20210266801) in further view of Nayak (US 2021/0153089).
Regarding Claims 13-15, Shah teaches a terminal, comprising: a processor and a memory, the memory is configured to store one or more pieces of computer program code, the computer program code comprises computer instructions, and when the processor executes the computer instructions (Par.54), the processor is enabled to: select at least one piece of target prior frequency information from a plurality of pieces of prior frequency information (Par.102 and Par.108, selects cell from a list of plural cells previously camped on), wherein the terminal selects the at least one piece of target prior frequency information from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information (Par.102 and Par.108, selects cell, previously camped on) based on at least one of [whether a currently registered public land mobile network belongs to a public land mobile network co-constructed and shared by operators] (no patentable weight given to the optional language) or whether the terminal can roam to another public land mobile network (Par.102 and Par.108, different PLMNs indicate terminal can roam to different PLMN and cell is selected from a list/table), so that the terminal selects at least one of the target prior frequency information from [prior frequency information of the public land mobile network co-constructed and shared by operators] (no patentable weight given to the optional language) or prior frequency information of the another public land mobile network to which the terminal can roam (Par.102 and Par.108, different PLMNs show terminal can roam to different PLMN and cell is selected from a list/table), wherein the prior frequency information is frequency information of a cell in a public land mobile network of an operator on which the terminal successfully camps previously (Par.108, past 10 previous connected to (i.e. camped on)). Shah, in the embodiments above clearly teaches determining a preferred cell to reselect to, however Shah does not explicitly teach, in the above citations, perform measurement and reselection evaluation based on the target prior frequency information; and perform cell reselection based on a reselection evaluation result.
Shah further teaches, in a further embodiment, that it is well known to perform measurement and reselection evaluation based on the target frequency information; and perform cell reselection based on a reselection evaluation result (Par.127-130, considers current cell and neighbor/target cell signals and determines to perform reselection when improved radio conditions can be provided). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the Invention of Shah with the further teachings of Shah such that a more enhanced and efficient system be provided so that an identified cell (i.e. target prior frequency information) would be further considered and evaluated before actually performing the reselection to ensure that radio conditions would be improved.
However Shah does not explicitly teach wherein to select the at least one piece of target prior frequency information from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information, the processor is enabled to: select the at least one piece of target prior frequency information from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information based on a use scenario of the terminal, wherein to select the at least one piece of target prior frequency information from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information based on a use scenario of the terminal, the processor is enabled to: select, from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information based on the use scenario of the terminal, target prior frequency information of an area that is same as an area in which the terminal is located.
Nayak, in the same field of endeavor, teaches it is well known wherein to select the at least one piece of target prior frequency information from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information (Par.123, Par.128, Par.1, Par.118, UE determines location and creates/identifies list of previously used frequencies in the location and selects a previously used frequency to obtain service), the processor is enabled to: select the at least one piece of target prior frequency information from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information based on a use scenario of the terminal (Par.123, use scenario: location determined), wherein to select the at least one piece of target prior frequency information from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information based on a use scenario of the terminal, the processor is enabled to: select, from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information based on the use scenario of the terminal, target prior frequency information of an area that is same as an area in which the terminal is located (Par.123 and Par.118, UE determines location and creates/identifies list of previously used frequencies in the location and selects a previously used frequency to obtain service).
Therefore, to one of ordinary skill in the art, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Shah with the teachings of Nayak. The Shah reference already teaches that the UE can have a list of the last 10 cells/bands/PLMNs previously camped on (i.e. previously connected) can be saved (Par.108). Nayak teaches an improvement where the UE determines its location and the frequencies previously connected to at the determined location. Such a teaching is well recognized in the art to provide a higher chance of quick reconnection or reselection and to save battery power by targeting the frequences it needs to scan (Par.15).
Regarding Claim 23, Shah further teaches the selecting, by a terminal, at least one piece of target prior frequency information from a plurality of pieces of prior frequency information comprises: selecting the at least one piece of target prior frequency information from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information based on a priority of the prior frequency information (Par.108, priority).
Regarding Claim 24, Shah further teaches if the target prior frequency information is added to the neighboring cell configuration, an amount of frequency information in the neighboring cell configuration is less than or equal to a preset amount (Par.108, list is <=10).
Regarding Claim 26, Shah further teaches the method further comprises: obtaining the prior frequency information of each frequency based on related information of a plurality of frequencies on which the terminal successfully camps (Par.108, last 10 camped on).
Claims 16, 27, and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shah (US 20210266801) and Nayak (US 2021/0153089) in further view of Ravuvari (US 20220400528).
Regarding Claims 16, 27, and 30, Shah teaches wherein the target prior frequency information is added to a neighboring cell configuration (Par.108, added to a list of the last 10), and the neighboring cell configuration comprises neighboring cell frequency information configured by a network device (Par.108, cell frequency information is maintained/configured by the terminal, which is a network device). Shah in Par.108 teaches that there may be multiple cells under consideration (Par.108:lines 16-26) and it is known that they can be cells the UE has previously camped on (Par.108:lines 16-26), however the combination of Shah and Nayak does not expressly teach performing measurement and reselection evaluation based on the target prior frequency information comprises: performing measurement based on a neighboring cell frequency in the neighboring cell frequency information to obtain a first measurement result, and performing reselection evaluation on the first measurement result based on a neighboring cell reselection configuration in the neighboring cell frequency information; and performing measurement based on a prior frequency in the target prior frequency information to obtain a second measurement result, and performing reselection evaluation on the second measurement result based on a prior reselection configuration in the target prior frequency.
Ravuvari teaches performing measurement and reselection evaluation based on the target prior frequency information comprises: performing measurement based on a neighboring cell frequency in the neighboring cell frequency information to obtain a first measurement result (Par.98:lines 3-8 and Par.105, measurement of each cell in a cell subset, e.g. a first cell), and performing reselection evaluation on the first measurement result based on a neighboring cell reselection configuration in the neighboring cell frequency information (Par. 98:lines 3-8 and Par.105, evaluates and selects suitable cell from subset based on at least measurements); and performing measurement based on a prior frequency in the target prior frequency information to obtain a second measurement result (Par.98:lines 3-8 and Par.105, measurement of another prior camped cell (i.e. prior frequency) in a cell subset, e.g. a third cell), and performing reselection evaluation on the second measurement result based on a prior reselection configuration in the target prior frequency. (Par.98:lines 3-8 and Par.105, evaluates and selects suitable cell from subset based on at least measurements).
Based on the teaches of the Shah, Nayak, and Ravuvari references, a skilled artisan recognizes, that during reselection, it is obvious to look at a list of previously connected/camped cells and evaluate their signal strengths to determine selection. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the Invention of Shah and Nayak with the teachings of Ravuvari such that the list of previously camped information is measured and evaluated prior to reselection to provide a system where mobile terminals can roam away from and back to an area and can quickly connect to the previously camped/connected cell especially if it provides optimal network conditions.
Claims 19, 28, and 31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shah (US 20210266801), Nayak (US 2021/0153089), and in further view of Van Bussel et al (US 2010/0248722).
Regarding Claims 19, 28, and 31, Shah teaches the selecting, from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information based on the use scenario of the terminal (Par.108:lines 10-27), target prior frequency information of an area that is the same as an area in which the terminal is located (Par.108, stores last 10 past cells/bands/plmns and can consider staying or reselecting based on various conditions, hence prior frequency information of an area that is the same as the one located in) comprises: determining the use scenario of the terminal as a first use scenario, wherein in the first use scenario, the terminal registers with a first public land mobile network and the terminal is in a first area (Par.108, determine a preferred LTE cell to stay on, hence terminal is registered with a first plmn and in a first area); and selecting, from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information, a target prior frequency is corresponding to the first area of a first plmn (Par.108, determine a preferred LTE cell to stay on, hence terminal is registered with a first plmn and in a first area), however the combination of Shah and Nayak does not explicitly teach the area reselected to belongs to a same operator as the first plmn.
Van Bussel teaches it is well-known to reselect to an area that belongs to a same operator as a first plmn (Par.5-6, reselection for “terminal devices in the border region are informed not only of the neighboring cells of the inherent PLMN, but of the neighboring cells of a ‘friendly’ PLMN, for example, those of a cooperating or the same network operator”, the inherent plmn is the current/first plmn). I skilled artisan recognizes that a terminal can reselect within a first PLMN to a neighbor cell that belongs to the same network operator.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the Invention of Shah and Nayak with the teachings of Van Bussel such that the terminal can reselect to an area that belongs to a same operator to be provided a quick transition to the best possible quality of service within an area.
Claims 20, 29, and 32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shah (US 20210266801), Nayak (US 2021/0153089), and in further view of Jung et al (US 2015/0304936).
Regarding Claims 20, 29, and 32, Shah teaches the selecting, from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information based on the use scenario of the terminal (Par.108:lines 10-27), target prior frequency information of an area that is the same as an area in which the terminal is located (Par.108, stores last 10 past cells/bands/plmns and can consider staying or reselecting based on various conditions, hence prior frequency information of an area that is the same as the one located in) comprises: determining the use scenario of the terminal as a second use scenario, wherein in the second use scenario, the terminal registers with a second public land mobile network and the terminal is in a second area (Par.108, determine a preferred LTE cell to stay on or to reselect to, hence must be registered with the plmn (i.e. a second plmn) in a particular area (i.e. second area)); and selecting target prior frequency information that meets a first condition and target prior frequency information that meets a second condition from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information (Par.108, multiple conditions for selection are taught), wherein the first condition is: belonging to a same operator as the second public land mobile network and being in the second area (Par.108, selection of cell/bands/plmns will be such that it must belong to the operator of the second area) however Shah and Nayak does not explicitly teach the second condition and the second condition is: being in a public land mobile network co-constructed and shared by an operator to which the second public land mobile network belongs and being in the second area.
Jung teaches it is well known to reselection to a public land mobile network co-constructed and shared by an operator to which the second public land mobile network belongs and being in the second area (Par.173). A skilled artisan would recognize that the selection of target prior frequency information can be based upon multiple conditions as taught by Shah and Nayak, and Jung teaches one of the conditions can be reselection to a public land mobile network co-constructed and shared by an operator to which the second public land mobile network belongs and being in the second area.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the Invention of Shah and Nayak with the teachings of Jung such that an enhanced system is provided where network infrastructure is shared reducing capital and operating costs and the selection of target prior frequency information during reselection further matches the area and the capabilities within the area that the device is located for enhanced quality of service based on the past connected list.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shah (US 20210266801), Nayak (US 2021/0153089), in further view of Sahin et al (US 10341907).
Regarding Claim 21, Shah teaches the selecting, from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information based on the use scenario of the terminal (Par.108:lines 10-27), target prior frequency information of an area that is the same as an area in which the terminal is located (Par.108, stores last 10 past cells/bands/plmns and can consider staying or reselecting based on various conditions, hence prior frequency information of an area that is the same as the one located in) comprises: determining the use scenario of the terminal as a third use scenario, wherein in the third use scenario, the terminal registers with a third public land mobile network and the terminal is in a third area (Par.108, determine a preferred LTE cell to stay on or to reselect to, hence must be registered with the plmn (i.e. a third plmn) in a particular area (i.e. third area)); and selecting target prior frequency information that meets a third condition and target prior frequency information that meets a fourth condition from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information (Par.108, multiple conditions for selection are taught), wherein the third condition is: belonging to a same operator as the third public land mobile network and being in the third area (Par.108, selection of cell/bands/plmns will be such that it must belong to the operator of the area (i.e. third area)). While Shah does teach that it is known to roam between 4G and 5G cells (Par.117), Shah and Nayak does not explicitly teach the fourth condition is: being in a public land mobile network roamed to from the third public land mobile network and being in the third area.
Sahin teaches it is well known being in a public land mobile network roamed to from the third public land mobile network and being in the third area (Col.7:lines 13-16, can roam from 4G to 5G cell within the same PLMN and vice versa).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the Invention of Shah and Nayak with the teachings of Sahin such that a device can, within the same PLMN, reselect to a different cell with different capabilities in order to continue to provide the best quality of service possible within the current location of the mobile device.
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shah (US 20210266801), Nayak (US 2021/0153089) and in further view of Sahin et al (US 10341907) and Jung et al (US 2015/0304936)..
Regarding Claim 22, Shah teaches the selecting, from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information based on the use scenario of the terminal (Par.108:lines 10-27), target prior frequency information of an area that is the same as an area in which the terminal is located (Par.108, stores last 10 past cells/bands/plmns and can consider staying or reselecting based on various conditions, hence prior frequency information of an area that is the same as the one located in) comprises: determining the use scenario of the terminal as a fourth use scenario, wherein in the fourth use scenario, the terminal registers with a fourth public land mobile network and the terminal is in a fourth area (Par.108, determine a preferred LTE cell to stay on or to reselect to, hence must be registered with the plmn (i.e. a fourth plmn) in a particular area (i.e. fourth area)); and selecting target prior frequency information that meets a fifth condition, target prior frequency information that meets a sixth condition, and target prior frequency information meets a seventh condition from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information (Par.108, multiple conditions for selection are taught), wherein the fifth condition is: belonging to a same operator as the fourth public land mobile network and being in the fourth area (Par.108, selection of cell/bands/plmns will be such that it must belong to the operator of the area (i.e. fourth area)).
While Shah does teach that it is known to roam between 4G and 5G cells (Par.117) however Shah and Nayak does not explicitly teach the seventh condition is: being in a public land mobile network roamed to from the fourth public land mobile network and being in the fourth area.
Sahin teaches it is well known being in a public land mobile network roamed to from the fourth public land mobile network and being in the third area (Col.7:lines 13-16, can roam from 4G to 5G cell within the same PLMN and vice versa).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the Invention of Shah and Nayak with the teachings of Sahin such that a device can, within the same PLMN, reselect to a different cell with different capabilities in order to continue to provide the best quality of service possible within the current location of the mobile device. However, Shah, Nayak, and Sahin do not explicitly teach the sixth condition being: in a public land mobile network co-constructed and shared by an operator to which the fourth public land mobile network belongs and being in the fourth area.
Jung teaches it is well known to perform reselection to a public land mobile network co-constructed and shared by an operator to which the public land mobile network belongs and being in the area (Par.173). A skilled artisan would recognize that the selection of target prior frequency information can be based upon multiple conditions as taught by Shah, and one of the conditions can be reselection to a public land mobile network co-constructed and shared by an operator to which the fourth public land mobile network belongs and being in the fourth area.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the Shah, Nayak, and Sahin with the further teachings of Jung such that an enhanced system is provided where network infrastructure is shared thereby reducing capital and operating costs and the selection of target prior frequency information during reselection further matches the area and the capabilities within the area that the device is located for enhanced quality of service based on the past connected list.
Claim 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shah (US 20210266801), Nayak (US 2021/0153089), and in further view of Hamilton (US 2014/0092873)
Regarding Claim 25, Shah further teaches wherein the selecting, by a terminal, at least one piece of target prior frequency information from a plurality of pieces of prior frequency information (Par.108) comprises: selecting the at least one piece of target prior frequency information from the plurality of pieces of prior frequency information when the terminal determines that a preset condition is met, wherein the preset condition comprises a first preset condition (no patentable weight given to the optional language) and/or a second preset condition (Par.107-108, signal quality RSRP); the first preset condition is that an amount of neighboring cell frequency information configured by the network device in the neighboring cell configuration is less than an amount threshold, or there is no neighboring cell frequency information in the neighboring cell configuration (no patentable weight given to the optional language directed to the first preset condition); however Shah and Nayak does not explicitly teach the second preset condition is that signal quality of a currently accessed cell is less than a first threshold and the terminal is not switched to a cell whose signal quality is greater than a second threshold within preset time, wherein the first threshold is less than the second threshold.
Hamilton teaches a preset condition is that signal quality of a currently accessed cell is less than a first threshold and the terminal is not switched to a cell whose signal quality is greater than a second threshold within preset time, wherein the first threshold is less than the second threshold (Par.4).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the Invention of Shah and Nayak with the teachings of Hamilton such that an enhanced system which can minimize delays in quality of service can be provided so that reselection can happen to ensure better service.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Shoykhet (2008/0057888) – (Par.99) teaches “ the device 10 may select a transmission frequency for the transmitter 14 based only on the current location of the device. To do so, the processing system determines its current location and then accesses the database of transmission frequencies cross-referenced to locations. For example, the processing system may select a transmission frequency from a database of previously used frequencies”.
Kazmi (WO 2010/123416) – (Pages 27-28, Pages 32-34, Page 37 and Page.40) teach location determination and providing the regional frequencies/bands to connect to.
Santhanam (20190075505) – (Par.22, Par.57-59) teaches reselection and reducing power by performing location determination and targeting only the bands with the location/region.
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/WESLEY L KIM/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2648