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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claim 28 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 32 of copending Application No. 18/274,866 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the claimed limitations recited in the present application are transparently found in the copending application (enter App Serial number) with obvious wording variations..
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Pending application(18/275,126)
Co-pending application(18/274,866)
28. (New) A method, for a first node in a radio access network (RAN), for managing quality-of- experience (QoE) measurements by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:
transmitting, to a second node in the RAN, configuration information for one or more RAN-visible QoE measurements configured for the UE by the first node.
32. (New) A method, in a first node in a radio access network (RAN), for managing quality-of- experience (QoE) measurements by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:
transmitting, to a second node in the RAN, status information for measurements associated to one or more QoE measurements configured for the UE by the first node.
Claim 29 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 33 of copending Application No. 18/274,866 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the claimed limitations recited in the present application are transparently found in the copending application (enter App Serial number) with obvious wording variations..
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Pending application(18/275,126)
Co-pending application(18/274,866)
29. (New) The method of claim 28, wherein the second node is associated with the first node with respect to at least one of:
changing a configuration for the UE for multi-connectivity;
mobility for the UE;
RRC resume or RRC reestablishment for the UE; and
switching transfer of data for the service from a path going to the UE via the first RAN node to a path going to the UE via the second RAN node
33. (New) The method of claim 32, wherein the second node is associated with the first node with respect to at least one of the following:
changing a configuration for the UE for dual connectivity;
mobility of the UE;
RRC resume or RRC reestablishment of the UE; and
switching the transfer of data for the service from a path going to the UE via the first RAN node to a path going to the UE via the second RAN node.
Claim 30 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 34 of copending Application No. 18/274,866 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the claimed limitations recited in the present application are transparently found in the copending application (enter App Serial number) with obvious wording variations..
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Pending application(18/275,126)
Co-pending application(18/274,866)
30. (New) The method of claim 28, wherein the method comprises, prior to said transmitting, configuring the UE for the one or more RAN-visible QoE measurements.
34. (New) The method of claim 32, wherein the method comprises, prior to said transmitting, configuring the UE for the one or more QoE measurements.
Claim 31 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 35 of copending Application No. 18/274,866 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the claimed limitations recited in the present application are transparently found in the copending application (enter App Serial number) with obvious wording variations..
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Pending application(18/275,126)
Co-pending application(18/274,866)
31. (New) The method of claim 28, wherein the configuration information comprises one or more of any of the following:
an indication of a service type for which the RAN-visible QoE is configured;
an indication of whether a session pertained to an application from the service type for which the RAN-visible QoE configuration is configured is ongoing or not;
..
35. (New) The method of claim 32, wherein the status information comprises one or more of any of the following:
…
; an indication indicating a service types or service subtypes to which the QoE measurements pertain;
an indication of whether a session of an application belonging to a service type or service subtype a QoE measurement configuration targets is ongoing;
….
Claim 35 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 39 of copending Application No. 18/274,866 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the claimed limitations recited in the present application are transparently found in the copending application (enter App Serial number) with obvious wording variations..
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Pending application(18/275,126)
Co-pending application(18/274,866)
35. (New) The method of claim 33, wherein the method comprises receiving, from the second node, a message acknowledging the request or indicating failure or inability to comply with the request
39. (New) The method of claim 38, wherein the method comprises receiving, from the second node, a message acknowledging the request or indicating failure or inability to comply with the request.
Claim 36 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 41 of copending Application No. 18/274,866 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the claimed limitations recited in the present application are transparently found in the copending application (enter App Serial number) with obvious wording variations..
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Pending application(18/275,126)
Co-pending application(18/274,866)
36. (New) The method of claim 33, wherein the request pertains to multiple UEs.
41. (New) The method of claim 38, wherein the request pertains to multiple UEs.
Claim 37 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 54 of copending Application No. 18/274,866 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the claimed limitations recited in the present application are transparently found in the copending application (enter App Serial number) with obvious wording variations..
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Pending application(18/275,126)
Co-pending application(18/274,866)
37. (New) A radio access network (RAN) node arranged to configure a user equipment (UE) to perform quality-of-experience (QoE) measurements, the RAN node comprising:
communication interface circuitry configured to communicate with UEs and with a network node or function outside the RAN; and
processing circuitry operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry,
whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to carry out a method according to claim 28
54. (New) A radio access network (RAN) node arranged to configure a user equipment (UE) to perform quality-of-experience (QoE) measurements, the RAN node comprising:
communication interface circuitry configured to communicate with UEs and with a network node or function outside the RAN; and
processing circuitry operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry,
whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to carry out a method according to claim 32.
Claim 47 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 56 of copending Application No. 18/274,866 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the claimed limitations recited in the present application are transparently found in the copending application (enter App Serial number) with obvious wording variations..
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Pending application(18/275,126)
Co-pending application(18/274,866)
47. (New) A method for a user equipment (UE), for handling configurations of quality-of- experience (QoE) measurements in a radio access network (RAN), the method comprising:
receiving, from a RAN node, a RAN-visible QoE configuration;
determining that the UE already has a RAN-visible QoE configuration for the same service type or application; and
upon said determining, taking one or more of the following actions:
discarding the new RAN-visible QoE configuration;
releasing the old RAN-visible QoE configuration and configuring itself and the upper layers with the new RAN-visible QoE configuration;
suspending the new configuration;
suspending the old configuration and activating the new configuration; if the old configuration is already in a suspended state when the new configuration is received, keeping the new configuration active and either releasing the old configuration or keeping the old configuration suspended;
if the type of the services/applications or a subtype of services is specified by the new RAN-visible QoE configuration, configuring itself and the upper layers of the targeted type or subtype of the services and/or targeted applications with the mentioned services and keeping the old RAN-visible QoE configuration for the rest of the applications;
in a dual-connectivity scenario, if one of the RAN-visible QoE configurations was received from a master node while the other was received from a secondary node, releasing the RAN-visible QoE configuration received from the secondary node and keeping the RAN-visible QoE configuration received from the master node;
in a dual-connectivity scenario, if one of the RAN-visible QoE configurations was received from a master node while the other was received from a secondary node, suspending the RAN-visible QoE configuration received from the secondary node and keeping the RAN-visible QoE configuration received from the master node active; if an ongoing application session of the type of service and/or subtype of service that the RAN-visible QoE configurations target (or all such ongoing applications sessions in case more than one is ongoing) is currently using radio bearer(s) towards the RAN node from which the old configuration was received, keeping the old configuration and either releasing or suspending the new configuration; and
if an ongoing application session of the type of service and/or subtype of service that the RAN-visible QoE configurations target (or all such ongoing applications sessions in case more than one is ongoing) is currently using radio bearer(s) towards the RAN node from which the new configuration was received, keeping the new configuration and either releasing or suspending the old configuration.
56. (New) A method for a user equipment (UE), for handling configurations of quality-of- experience (QoE) measurements in a radio access network (RAN),the method comprising:
receiving, from a RAN node, a QoE measurement configuration (QMC) for one or more service types or applications; determining that the UE already has a QoE configuration for the same service type or application; and
upon said determining, taking one or more of the following actions:
discarding the new configuration;
releasing the old configuration and configuring itself and the upper layers with the new configuration;
suspending the new configuration; suspending the old configuration and activating the new configuration; if the old configuration is already in a suspended state when the new configuration is received, keeping the new configuration active and either releasing the old configuration or keeping the old configuration suspended;
if the type of the services/applications or a subtype of services is specified by the new QoE configuration, configuring itself and the upper layers of the targeted type or subtype of the services and/or targeted applications with the mentioned services and keeping the old configuration for the rest of the applications;
in a dual connectivity scenario, if one of the QoE configurations was received from a master node while the other was received from a secondary node, releasing the QoE configuration received from the secondary node and keeping the QoE configuration received from the master node;
in a dual connectivity scenario, if one of the QoE configurations was received from a master node while the other was received from a secondary node, suspending the QoE configuration received from the secondary node and keeping the QoE configuration received from the master node active; if an ongoing application session of the type of service and/or subtype of service that the QoE configurations target (or all such ongoing applications sessions in case more than one is ongoing) is currently using radio bearer(s) towards the RAN node from which the old configuration was received, keeping the old configuration and either releasing or suspending the new configuration; and
if an ongoing application session of the type of service and/or subtype of service that the QoE configurations target (or all such ongoing applications sessions in case more than one is ongoing) is currently using radio bearer(s) towards the RAN node from which the new configuration was received, keeping the new configuration and either releasing or suspending the old configuration.
Claim 48 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 57 of copending Application No. 18/274,866 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the claimed limitations recited in the present application are transparently found in the copending application (enter App Serial number) with obvious wording variations..
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Pending application(18/275,126)
Co-pending application(18/274,866)
48. (New) A user equipment (UE) configured to perform quality-of-experience (QoE) measurements in a radio access network (RAN) the UE comprising:
radio transceiver circuitry configured to communicate with at least one RAN node; and
processing circuitry operatively coupled to the radio transceiver circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the radio transceiver circuitry are configured to carry out the method of claim 46.
57. (New) A user equipment (UE) configured to perform quality-of-experience (QoE) measurements in a radio access network (RAN), the UE comprising:
radio transceiver circuitry configured to communicate with at least one RAN node; and
processing circuitry operatively coupled to the radio transceiver circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the radio transceiver circuitry are configured to perform a method according to claim 56.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 29, 31, 32, 33, 41, 42, 46, and 48 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 29 recites “RRC resume or RRC reestablishment” without prior definition of “RRC”. Claim 31 recites “signaled to the TCE” without prior definition of “TCE”. Claim 32 recites “the status information” without prior recitation of “a status information”. Claim 33 recites “the QoE reports” without prior recitation of “QoE reports”. Claim 33 recites “the activated RAN” without prior recitation of “an activated RAN”. Claim 33 recites “the suspended RAN” without prior recitation of “a suspended RAN”. Claim 41 recites “the status information” without prior recitation of “a status information”. Claim 42 recites “the QoE reports” without prior recitation of “QoE reports”. Claim 42 recites “the activated RAN” without prior recitation of “an activated. RAN”. Claim 42 recites “the suspended RAN” without prior recitation of “a suspended RAN”. Claim 46 recites “the request” without prior recitation of “a request”. Claim 48 recites “A user equipment . . . to carry out the method of claim 46”. Claim 46 does not recite a method that can be carried out by a user equipment.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 28-32, 38-40, and 48 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shi et al. (US 20200092762 A1).
Regarding claim 28, Shi et al. teach A method, for a first node in a radio access network (RAN) , for managing quality-of- experience (QoE) measurements by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:
transmitting, to a second node in the RAN, configuration information for one or more RAN-visible QoE measurements configured for the UE by the first node ([0007] The measurements are initiated towards RAN , [0021] for a terminal for which QoE Measurement has been configured, the trace session information, which has been received by the source network node from the Measurement Initiating node, is sent from the source network node to the target network node,. Note: the first node in the claim is interpreted as Shi source node, and the second node in the claim is interpreted as Shi target node)
Regarding claim 29, Shi et al. teach The method of claim 28, wherein the second node is associated with the first node with respect to at least one of:
changing a configuration for the UE for multi-connectivity;
mobility for the UE ([0017] Target network node—The serving node where the terminal is moving to and the measurement continued, e.g., RNC, eNB, gNB);
RRC resume or RRC reestablishment for the UE; and
switching transfer of data for the service from a path going to the UE via the first RAN node to a path going to the UE via the second RAN node ([0017] It is the target serving RAN/Node during relocation or handover—meaning it provides wireless service to the terminal after the relocation or handover from the source network node).
Regarding claim 30, Shi et al. teach The method of claim 28, wherein the method comprises, prior to said transmitting, configuring the UE for the one or more RAN-visible QoE measurements ([0021] for a terminal for which QoE Measurement has been configured).
Regarding claim 31, Shi et al. teach The method of claim 28, wherein the configuration information comprises one or more of any of the following:
an indication of a service type for which the RAN-visible QoE is configured ([0005] collect information about the quality of streaming services used in the terminal);
an indication of whether a session pertained to an application from the service type for which the RAN-visible QoE configuration is configured is ongoing or not;
an indication of a type of the QoE measurement;
an indication of whether the first RAN node is interested to receive the RAN-visible QoE measurement results upon delivery of the RAN-visible QoE measurements from the wireless terminal to the second RAN node;
an indication that a RAN-visible QoE report with information pertaining to the second RAN node has been received;
an indication, signalled together with a RAN-visible QoE report, of whether the report has been already signalled to the TCE; and
a RAN-visible QoE report received from a wireless terminal.
Regarding claim 32, Shi et al. teach The method of claim 28, wherein the status information is transmitted to the second node along with status information pertaining to one or more additional UEs ([0020] the trace session information is transferred from the source network node to the target network node).
Regarding claim 37, Shi et al. teach A radio access network (RAN) node (Fig. 4 Network Node 200) arranged to configure a user equipment (UE) to perform quality-of-experience (QoE) measurements ([0069] The source network node has a Quality of Experience (QoE) Measurement configured for the terminal), the RAN node comprising:
communication interface circuitry ([0074] interface 201, and antenna 201a ) configured to communicate with UEs ([0075] “network node” refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a terminal ) and with a network node or function outside the RAN (); and
processing circuitry operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry ([0074] Network node 200 comprises processing circuitry 202,),
whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to carry out a method according to claim 28 ([0069] The source network node has a Quality of Experience (QoE) Measurement configured for the terminal ).
Regarding claim 38, Shi et al. teach A method, for a second node in a radio access network (RAN), for managing quality- of-experience (QoE) measurements by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising
:receiving, from a first node in the RAN, configuration information for one or more RAN- visible QoE measurements configured for the UE by the first node ([0068] The target network node receives trace session information related to the QoE Measurement from the source network node. Note: the first node in the claim is interpreted as Shi source node, and the second node in the claim is interpreted as Shi target node).
Regarding claim 39, Shi et al. teach method of claim 38, wherein the second node is associated with the first node with respect to at least one of:
changing a configuration for the UE for multi-connectivity;
mobility for the UE ([0017] Target network node—The serving node where the terminal is moving to and the measurement continued, e.g., RNC, eNB, gNB);
RRC resume or RRC reestablishment for the UE; and
switching transfer of data for the service from a path going to the UE via the first RAN node to a path going to the UE via the second RAN node ([0017] It is the target serving RAN/Node during relocation or handover—meaning it provides wireless service to the terminal after the relocation or handover from the source network node).
Regarding claim 40, Shi et al. teach The method of claim 38, wherein the configuration information comprises one or more of any of the following:
an indication of a service type for which the RAN-visible QoE is configured ([0005] collect information about the quality of streaming services used in the terminal);
an indication of whether a session pertained to an application from the service type for which the RAN-visible QoE configuration is configured is ongoing or not;
an indication of a type of the QoE measurement;
an indication of whether the first RAN node is interested to receive the RAN-visible QoE measurement results upon delivery of the RAN-visible QoE measurements from the wireless terminal to the second RAN node;
an indication that a RAN-visible QoE report with information pertaining to the second RAN node has been received;
an indication, signalled together with a RAN-visible QoE report, of whether the report has been already signalled to the TCE; and
a RAN-visible QoE report received from a wireless terminal.
Regarding claim 48, Shi et al. teach A user equipment (UE) configured to perform quality-of-experience (QoE) measurements in a radio access network (RAN) the UE comprising:
radio transceiver circuitry ([0088] interface 211, and antenna 211a) configured to communicate with at least one RAN node ([0091] Interface 211 may be used in the wireless communication of signaling and/or data between terminal 210 and network node 200.); and
processing circuitry ([0088] Terminal 210 comprises processing circuitry 212 ) operatively coupled to the radio transceiver circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the radio transceiver circuitry are configured to carry out the method of claim 46 ([0091] send and receive data from network node 200 over a wireless connection).
Claim(s) 47 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Huawei (Discussions on potential RAN3 impacts about the QoE measurement configuration, reporting and releasing under SA, NSA and MR-DC operation, 3GPP TSG-RAN WG3 Meeting #110-e, R3-206734, 2 – 12 Nov 2020)
.
Regarding claim 47, Huawei teaches A method for a user equipment (UE), for handling configurations of quality-of- experience (QoE) measurements in a radio access network (RAN), the method comprising:
receiving, from a RAN node, a RAN-visible QoE configuration (Proposal 6 the gNB, could select a UE in MR-DC operation including NSA, even if this gNB is acting as SN for that UE, and could configure the QoE measurement directly);
determining that the UE already has a RAN-visible QoE configuration for the same service type or application (Proposal 2 second paragraph thus all logging and reporting criterias for an ongoing session shall be unaffected by any QoE configuration changes); and
upon said determining, taking one or more of the following actions:
discarding the new RAN-visible QoE configuration (Proposal 2 second paragraph thus all logging and reporting criterias for an ongoing session shall be unaffected by any QoE configuration changes);
releasing the old RAN-visible QoE configuration and configuring itself and the upper layers with the new RAN-visible QoE configuration;
suspending the new configuration ;
suspending the old configuration and activating the new configuration (Thus changes to the QoE configuration will only affect sessions started after these configuration changes have been received);
if the old configuration is already in a suspended state when the new configuration is received, keeping the new configuration active and either releasing the old configuration or keeping the old configuration suspended;
if the type of the services/applications or a subtype of services is specified by the new RAN-visible QoE configuration, configuring itself and the upper layers of the targeted type or subtype of the services and/or targeted applications with the mentioned services and keeping the old RAN-visible QoE configuration for the rest of the applications;
in a dual-connectivity scenario, if one of the RAN-visible QoE configurations was received from a master node while the other was received from a secondary node, releasing the RAN-visible QoE configuration received from the secondary node and keeping the RAN-visible QoE configuration received from the master node;
in a dual-connectivity scenario, if one of the RAN-visible QoE configurations was received from a master node while the other was received from a secondary node, suspending the RAN-visible QoE configuration received from the secondary node and keeping the RAN-visible QoE configuration received from the master node active;
if an ongoing application session of the type of service and/or subtype of service that the RAN-visible QoE configurations target (or all such ongoing applications sessions in case more than one is ongoing) is currently using radio bearer(s) towards the RAN node from which the old configuration was received, keeping the old configuration and either releasing or suspending the new configuration; and
if an ongoing application session of the type of service and/or subtype of service that the RAN-visible QoE configurations target (or all such ongoing applications sessions in case more than one is ongoing) is currently using radio bearer(s) towards the RAN node from which the new configuration was received, keeping the new configuration and either releasing or suspending the old configuration.
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.
Claims 46 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi et al. in view of XU et al. (US 20220322161 A1) .
Regarding claim 46, Shi et al. teach The method of claim 38, but do not teach
wherein the request pertains to multiple UEs.
In a similar endeavor, Xu et al. teach
wherein the request pertains to multiple UEs (Xu [0040]-[0041] there are many different types of usage scenarios for a group of devices, such as, a swarm of UAVs. However, due to the characteristics of the group of devices, it is preferred that all the devices of the group are handled in such way that any network operations are performed successfully for all the devices in the group... There are some traditional schemes for handover of a group of devices)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Shi et al. by incorporating Xu et al. multiple devices to request handover the group to arrive at the invention.
The motivation of doing so would have
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 33-37 and 41-45 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 33, Shi et al. teach The method of claim 28, but fail to teach or suggest
wherein the method further comprises sending, to the second node, a request regarding the one or more RAN-visible QoE measurements, wherein the request comprises any one of:
a request to send to the first RAN node the QoE reports received by the second RAN node;
a request to support reception of RAN-visible QoE reporting;
a request to suspend one or a list of the activated RAN-visible QoE measurements;
a request to resume one or a list of the suspended RAN-visible QoE measurements;
a request to release or to pause one or a list of the activated RAN-visible QoE measurements; and
a request to configure the UE with a certain configuration of RAN-visible measurements or certain configuration of radio measurements linked to the QoE measurements.
Regarding claims 34-37, the claims are objected to for depending from 33
Regarding claim 41,Shi et al. teach The method of claim 38, but fail to teach or suggest
wherein the method comprises refraining from configuring or changing a configuration of QoE measurements by the UE, in response to the status information.
Regarding Claim 42, the claim is objected to for similar reason like claim 33.
Regarding claims 43-45, the claims are objected to for depending from 42
Conclusion
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/SAID M ELNOUBI/Examiner, Art Unit 2644