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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 6 March 2026 has been entered into the record.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s submission—in which claims 1, 3-10, 12-14, and 16-20 are amended, and claims 1, 3-10, 12-14, and 16-20 are pending—is fully considered herein.
Response to Arguments
The amendments to claim 12 overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 101 by adding the limitation “non-transitory” to the claim preamble. Accordingly, the rejection of claim 12 under 35 U.S.C. § 101 is hereby withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments—set forth at pp. 7-10 in the Remarks with respect to independent claims 1, 13, and 14—have been fully considered but are moot because the new grounds of rejection rely on one or more reference not applied in the prior rejection of record for some teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Accordingly, the rejection of the claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103 is maintained for the reasons set forth below in the grounds of rejection.
Manner of Making Amendments under 37 CFR 1.121
The following is a quotation of 37 CFR 1.121(c):
(c) Claims. Amendments to a claim must be made by rewriting the entire claim with all changes (e.g., additions and deletions) as indicated in this subsection, except when the claim is being canceled. Each amendment document that includes a change to an existing claim, cancellation of an existing claim or addition of a new claim, must include a complete listing of all claims ever presented, including the text of all pending and withdrawn claims, in the application. The claim listing, including the text of the claims, in the amendment document will serve to replace all prior versions of the claims, in the application. In the claim listing, the status of every claim must be indicated after its claim number by using one of the following identifiers in a parenthetical expression: (Original), (Currently amended), (Canceled), (Withdrawn), (Previously presented), (New), and (Not entered).
Regarding claims 21-24, the Listing of Claims beginning at p. 2 of the Amendment improperly fails to list claims 21-24 and omits the indication of the status of claims 21-24 as “canceled.” Accordingly, any subsequent submission by Applicant must include the proper status identifiers of all claims to comply with Rule 121. See MPEP § 714(II)(F).
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.
Regarding claim 12, the “to perform steps recited in claim 1” limitation is ambiguous as to which of the steps of claim 12 are required to be performed, and thus claim 12 does not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired. See MPEP § 2173.02. Accordingly, appropriate correction is required to meet the threshold requirements of clarity and precision set forth in 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
Regarding claim 13, the “within an area that the radio base station is aware of” limitation is ambiguous with respect to which “radio base station,” as the term lacks an antecedent basis. Accordingly, appropriate correction is required to meet the threshold requirements of clarity and precision set forth in 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
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.
Claims 1, 3-6, 9, 12-14, and 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2011/047735 (hereinafter, “PIEROTH”) in view of US Pat. No. 11,710,897 (hereinafter, “BONNEY”), and further in view of US 2024/0063894 (hereinafter, “VOGEDES”).
Regarding claim 1, PIEROTH discloses:
A method of a radio base station (base station 103b) of communicating with a neighbouring radio base station (base station 103a), comprising:
establishing communication with said neighbouring radio base station, . . . ; and (P. 17, l. 32 – p. 18, l. 2: [O]ne or more of the interfaces 106, 108 which are provided for a data communication between two cells 102a, 102b are configured for providing position data to the second base station 103b which serves the second cell 102b)
acquiring, from the neighbouring radio base station, information identifying at least one other radio base station (base station 103c/103d) within an area that the neighbouring radio base station is aware of . . . (P. 17, l. 32 – p. 18, l. 23: [O]ne or more of the interfaces 106, 108 which are provided for a data communication between two cells 102a, 102b are configured for providing position data to the second base station 103b which serves the second cell 102b. In the following, some exemplary embodiments for the position data are discussed. For example, according to an embodiment, the position data provided by the interface 106, 108 of the first base station 103a are own position data which are related to the first base station 103a. However, according to other embodiments, the position data include foreign position data which are related to a third base station 103c which is different from the first base station 103a and the second base station 103b. The third base station may be for example a further neighbour base station 103c, or may be another, more distant base station, such as a next nearest neighbour base station 103d. In the exemplary embodiment, the position data are related to a geographical position of a cell 102a served by a certain base station 103a under consideration. According to another embodiment, the position data which are related to the base station 103a under consideration indicate the geographical position of the base station 103a under consideration)
PIEROTH does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the radio base station is an aerial radio base station that continuously moves within an area, and the establishing of the communication being performed when the distance to the neighbouring base station is less than a predetermined distance value as the aerial radio base station traverses the area
for updating a Neighbour Cell Relation Table (NCRT) to enable handover of wireless communication devices served by the aerial radio base station.
In the same field of endeavor, however, BONNEY teaches:
wherein the radio base station is [a mobile] radio base station that continuously moves within an area, and the establishing of the communication being performed when the distance to the neighbouring base station is less than a predetermined distance value as the [mobile] radio base station traverses the area (Col. 3, ll. 61-66: [M]obile vehicle 102a traverses about travel area 104. The mobile vehicle 102a may be configured to provide network to various electronic devices within the travel area 104; col. 13, ll. 56-63: [T]he mission control server may also determine whether the distance between the aerial vehicle and the identified network (or a node associated with the network) satisfies a distance threshold. The mission control server may only proceed if the distance threshold is satisfied (e.g., the node associated with the identified network is closer to the aerial vehicle than the predetermined threshold); claim 5: [D]etermining, by the server, that the aerial vehicle is to connect with network, responsive to the aerial vehicle being within a threshold distance of at least one node of the network)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify PIEROTH’s neighbor base station determination procedure to provide a mobile vehicle as taught by BONNEY to provide a communication travel plan generation system that continuously monitors network attributes and conditions, so that the communication travel plan generation system dynamically revises network connectivity of aerial vehicles, such that the aerial vehicles provide better network connection to various subscriber nodes. See BONNEY, at col. 3, ll. 55-60.
Also, in the same field of endeavor, however, VOGEDES teaches:
an aerial radio base station (¶ 0241: NTN node decides to add this neighbor relation table (which for NTN cells can include location, UTC time and other NTN platform characteristics), and can use PCI and NCGI(s) to . . . update the Neighbor Cell Relation List; if needed, setup a new Xn interface towards this NTN cell/gNB)
for updating a Neighbour Cell Relation Table (NCRT) to enable handover of wireless communication devices served by the aerial radio base station. (¶ 0241: NTN node decides to add this neighbor relation table (which for NTN cells can include location, UTC time and other NTN platform characteristics), and can use PCI and NCGI(s) to . . . update the Neighbor Cell Relation List; if needed, setup a new Xn interface towards this NTN cell/gNB) [The Examiner notes that the “for updating” feature is directed to an intended use and does not meaningful limit the scope of the claim and thus is entitled to little or no patentable weight. If Applicant intended to recite a further limitation, the Examiner suggests that any subsequent submission include an amendment to the claim to positively recite the requirement.]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify PIEROTH’s neighbor base station determination procedure to provide a non-terrestrial network (NTN) cell as taught by VOGEDES to standardize the procedure (e.g., TS 38.300), so that gNB could have the ability to exclude some neighbors based on the satellite ephemeris of the serving NTN cell and neighbors. See VOGEDES, at ¶¶ 0242-0243.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of PIEROTH, BONNEY, and VOGEDES, as applied above, renders obvious the method of claim 1. PIEROTH further discloses:
the communication being established over an X2 interface, the method further comprising: (P. 23, l. 29 – p.24, l. 2: Position Data exchange via X2 Setup procedure: The X2 Setup procedure which is already applied for exchange of configuration parameters of the eNBs could be enhanced with Position Data IE. For example, position data including the geographical position of the base station and the radius of the serving area of the cell may be added to ‘Served Cell Information' IE)
acquiring an identifier of the neighbouring base station either by instructing a wireless communication device served by the radio base station to perform an Automatic Neighbour Relation, ANR, procedure, or by acquiring an identifier of the neighbouring base station with which the radio base station has been preconfigured. (P. 1, l. 29 – p.2, l. 7: [I]t is known to provide an automatic neighbour relation function. The basics of Automatic Neighbour Relation (ANR) are defined in 3GPP 36.300, with further details in 3GPP 36.413 and 3GPP 36.331. The ANR function allows for each base station, referred to as eNB in the LTE mobile network, to detect its own neighbouring eNBs, to establish connections to those neighbouring base stations directly, via the so-called X2 interface described in 3GPP 36.423, and then, when necessary, hand over a user equipment to a neighbour base station using the so-called "handover procedure")
Regarding claim 4 and claim 17, the combination of PIEROTH, BONNEY, and VOGEDES, as applied herein, renders obvious the method of claim 1 and the radio base station of claim 14, respectively. PIEROTH further discloses:
the information further comprising identifiers of cells served by said at least one other radio base station within the area. (P. 6, ll. 8-15: [P]osition data indicate a spatial extent of a unique identifier area of the cell served by the first base station, wherein the unique identifier area is an area with (a) within which the first base station is able to perform wireless communication with the user equipment and (b) within which a local cell identifier of the first base station is unique among local cell identifiers of other base stations surrounding the first base station; claim 5: [A] local cell identifier of the first base station (103a, 203a, 303a) is unique among local cell identifiers of other base stations surrounding the first base station (103a, 203a, 303a)) [The Examiner finds that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before Applicant’s application was filed, by drawing a reasonable inference and/or employing routine steps to conclude that the disclosed local cell identifier—served by the first base station as being unique among local cell identifiers of other base stations surrounding the first base station—implicitly discloses information identifying the cells served by each of the base stations, including said at least one other radio base station. See MPEP § 2143]
Regarding claim 5 and claim 18, the combination of PIEROTH, BONNEY, and VOGEDES, as applied above, renders obvious the method of claim 4 and the radio base station of claim 17, respectively. PIEROTH further discloses:
the information identifying cells served by said at least one other radio base station within the area comprising Physical Cell Identifiers, PCIs. (P. 2, ll. 13-17: In case the user equipment is near the service area border to a second base station eNB-B, the user equipment detects cells served by the second base station and reports the related Physical Cell ID (PCI) of the cells in an RRC (Radio Resource Control))
Regarding claim 6 and claim 19, the combination of PIEROTH, BONNEY, and VOGEDES, as applied herein, renders obvious the method of claim 1 and the radio base station of claim 19, respectively. PIEROTH further discloses:
the information identifying at least one other radio base station within an area comprising a Target Cell Identifier, TCI, or a Cell Global Identifier, CGI. (P. 18, ll. 18-24: If the first base station eNB-A realizes that its database does not include the reported PCI, the first database eNB-A instructs the user equipment to measure a global cell identity, e.g. an E-UTRAN Cell Global Identity (ECGI) of the newly discovered cell. Measuring the cell global identity is necessary in cases where the PCI is ambiguous)
Regarding claim 9, the combination of PIEROTH, BONNEY, and VOGEDES, as applied above, renders obvious the method of claim 1. PIEROTH further discloses:
the information further comprising one or more of (a) coordinates indicating an assigned radio coverage area of the neighbouring radio base station, (P. 10, ll. 16-20: [P]osition data which are related to the first base station indicate a spatial extent of a service area of a cell served by the first base station and the position data related to the second base station indicate a geographical position of a cell served by the second base station) [The Examiner finds that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before Applicant’s application was filed, by drawing a reasonable inference and/or employing routine steps to interpret the disclosed position data—indicating a spatial extent of a cell service area/geographical position—to implicitly disclose coordinates indicating an assigned radio coverage area. See MPEP § 2143]
(b) a timestamp indicating a time when the neighbouring radio base station acquired the information identifying said at least one other radio base station within the area and (c) current coordinates of the neighbouring radio base station.
Regarding claim 12, the combination of PIEROTH, BONNEY, and VOGEDES, as applied above, renders obvious the method of claim 1. PIEROTH further discloses:
A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium, the computer readable medium having embodied thereon a computer program comprising computer-executable instructions for causing a radio base station to perform steps recited in claim 1 when the computer-executable instructions are executed on a processing unit included in the radio base station. (P. 14, ll. 15-20: The computer program may be implemented as a computer-readable instruction code by use of any suitable programming language, such as, for example, JAVA, C++, and may be stored on a computer-readable medium (removable disk, volatile or non-volatile memory, embedded memory/processor, etc.))
Regarding claim 13, PIEROTH discloses:
A method of [a] radio base station (base station 103b) of communicating with a neighbouring radio base station (base station 103a), comprising:
establishing communication with said neighbouring radio base station, . . . ; and (P. 17, l. 32 – p. 18, l. 2: [O]ne or more of the interfaces 106, 108 which are provided for a data communication between two cells 102a, 102b are configured for providing position data to the second base station 103b which serves the second cell 102b)
providing the neighbouring radio base station with information identifying at least one other radio base station (base station 103c/103d) within an area that the radio base station is aware of . . . . (P. 17, l. 32 – p. 18, l. 23: [O]ne or more of the interfaces 106, 108 which are provided for a data communication between two cells 102a, 102b are configured for providing position data to the second base station 103b which serves the second cell 102b. In the following, some exemplary embodiments for the position data are discussed. For example, according to an embodiment, the position data provided by the interface 106, 108 of the first base station 103a are own position data which are related to the first base station 103a. However, according to other embodiments, the position data include foreign position data which are related to a third base station 103c which is different from the first base station 103a and the second base station 103b. The third base station may be for example a further neighbour base station 103c, or may be another, more distant base station, such as a next nearest neighbour base station 103d. In the exemplary embodiment, the position data are related to a geographical position of a cell 102a served by a certain base station 103a under consideration. According to another embodiment, the position data which are related to the base station 103a under consideration indicate the geographical position of the base station 103a under consideration)
PIEROTH does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the aerial radio base station continuously moves within an area, and the establishing of the communication being performed when the distance to the neighbouring base station is less than a predetermined distance value as the aerial radio base station traverses the area
for updating a Neighbour Cell Relation Table (NCRT) to enable handover of wireless communication devices served by the aerial radio base station.
In the same field of endeavor, however, BONNEY teaches:
wherein the mobile radio base station continuously moves within an area, and the establishing of the communication being performed when the distance to the neighbouring base station is less than a predetermined distance value as the aerial radio base station traverses the area (Col. 3, ll. 61-66: [M]obile vehicle 102a traverses about travel area 104. The mobile vehicle 102a may be configured to provide network to various electronic devices within the travel area 104; col. 13, ll. 56-63: [T]he mission control server may also determine whether the distance between the aerial vehicle and the identified network (or a node associated with the network) satisfies a distance threshold. The mission control server may only proceed if the distance threshold is satisfied (e.g., the node associated with the identified network is closer to the aerial vehicle than the predetermined threshold); claim 5: [D]etermining, by the server, that the aerial vehicle is to connect with network, responsive to the aerial vehicle being within a threshold distance of at least one node of the network)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify PIEROTH’s neighbor base station determination procedure to provide a mobile vehicle as taught by BONNEY to provide a communication travel plan generation system that continuously monitors network attributes and conditions, so that the communication travel plan generation system dynamically revises network connectivity of aerial vehicles, such that the aerial vehicles provide better network connection to various subscriber nodes. See BONNEY, at col. 3, ll. 55-60.
Also, in the same field of endeavor, however, VOGEDES teaches:
an aerial radio base station (¶ 0241: NTN node decides to add this neighbor relation table (which for NTN cells can include location, UTC time and other NTN platform characteristics), and can use PCI and NCGI(s) to . . . update the Neighbor Cell Relation List; if needed, setup a new Xn interface towards this NTN cell/gNB)
for updating a Neighbour Cell Relation Table (NCRT) to enable handover of wireless communication devices served by the aerial radio base station. (¶ 0241: NTN node decides to add this neighbor relation table (which for NTN cells can include location, UTC time and other NTN platform characteristics), and can use PCI and NCGI(s) to . . . update the Neighbor Cell Relation List; if needed, setup a new Xn interface towards this NTN cell/gNB) [The Examiner notes that the “for updating” feature is directed to an intended use and does not meaningful limit the scope of the claim and thus is entitled to little or no patentable weight. If Applicant intended to recite a further limitation, the Examiner suggests that any subsequent submission include an amendment to the claim to positively recite the requirement.]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify PIEROTH’s neighbor base station determination procedure to provide a non-terrestrial network (NTN) cell as taught by VOGEDES to standardize the procedure (e.g., TS 38.300), so that gNB could have the ability to exclude some neighbors based on the satellite ephemeris of the serving NTN cell and neighbors. See VOGEDES, at ¶¶ 0242-0243.
Regarding claim 14, PIEROTH discloses:
A radio base station (base station 103b) configured to communicate with a neighbouring radio base station (base station 103a), comprising
a processing unit and (P. 14, ll. 15-20; P. 31, ll. 27-32: processor)
a memory (P. 14, ll. 15-20: volatile/non-volatile memory, embedded memory), said memory containing instructions executable by said processing unit, whereby the radio base station is operative to:
establish communication with said neighbouring radio base station, . . . ; and (P. 17, l. 32 – p. 18, l. 2: [O]ne or more of the interfaces 106, 108 which are provided for a data communication between two cells 102a, 102b are configured for providing position data to the second base station 103b which serves the second cell 102b)
acquire, from the neighbouring radio base station, information identifying at least one other radio base station (base station 103c/103d) within an area that the neighbouring radio base station is aware of. (P. 17, l. 32 – p. 18, l. 23: [O]ne or more of the interfaces 106, 108 which are provided for a data communication between two cells 102a, 102b are configured for providing position data to the second base station 103b which serves the second cell 102b. In the following, some exemplary embodiments for the position data are discussed. For example, according to an embodiment, the position data provided by the interface 106, 108 of the first base station 103a are own position data which are related to the first base station 103a. However, according to other embodiments, the position data include foreign position data which are related to a third base station 103c which is different from the first base station 103a and the second base station 103b. The third base station may be for example a further neighbour base station 103c, or may be another, more distant base station, such as a next nearest neighbour base station 103d. In the exemplary embodiment, the position data are related to a geographical position of a cell 102a served by a certain base station 103a under consideration. According to another embodiment, the position data which are related to the base station 103a under consideration indicate the geographical position of the base station 103a under consideration)
PIEROTH does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the radio base station is an aerial radio base station that continuously moves within an area, and the radio base station is operative to establish the communication when the distance to the neighbouring base station is less than a predetermined distance value as the aerial radio base station traverses the area
for updating a Neighbour Cell Relation Table (NCRT) to enable handover of wireless communication devices served by the aerial radio base station.
In the same field of endeavor, however, BONNEY teaches:
wherein the radio base station is an aerial radio base station that continuously moves within an area, and the radio base station is operative to establish the communication when the distance to the neighbouring base station is less than a predetermined distance value as the aerial radio base station traverses the area (Col. 3, ll. 61-66: [M]obile vehicle 102a traverses about travel area 104. The mobile vehicle 102a may be configured to provide network to various electronic devices within the travel area 104; col. 13, ll. 56-63: [T]he mission control server may also determine whether the distance between the aerial vehicle and the identified network (or a node associated with the network) satisfies a distance threshold. The mission control server may only proceed if the distance threshold is satisfied (e.g., the node associated with the identified network is closer to the aerial vehicle than the predetermined threshold); claim 5: [D]etermining, by the server, that the aerial vehicle is to connect with network, responsive to the aerial vehicle being within a threshold distance of at least one node of the network)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify PIEROTH’s neighbor base station determination procedure to provide a mobile vehicle as taught by BONNEY to provide a communication travel plan generation system that continuously monitors network attributes and conditions, so that the communication travel plan generation system dynamically revises network connectivity of aerial vehicles, such that the aerial vehicles provide better network connection to various subscriber nodes. See BONNEY, at col. 3, ll. 55-60.
Also, in the same field of endeavor, however, VOGEDES teaches:
an aerial radio base station (¶ 0241: NTN node decides to add this neighbor relation table (which for NTN cells can include location, UTC time and other NTN platform characteristics), and can use PCI and NCGI(s) to . . . update the Neighbor Cell Relation List; if needed, setup a new Xn interface towards this NTN cell/gNB)
for updating a Neighbour Cell Relation Table (NCRT) to enable handover of wireless communication devices served by the aerial radio base station. (¶ 0241: NTN node decides to add this neighbor relation table (which for NTN cells can include location, UTC time and other NTN platform characteristics), and can use PCI and NCGI(s) to . . . update the Neighbor Cell Relation List; if needed, setup a new Xn interface towards this NTN cell/gNB) [The Examiner notes that the “for updating” feature is directed to an intended use and does not meaningful limit the scope of the claim and thus is entitled to little or no patentable weight. If Applicant intended to recite a further limitation, the Examiner suggests that any subsequent submission include an amendment to the claim to positively recite the requirement.]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify PIEROTH’s neighbor base station determination procedure to provide a non-terrestrial network (NTN) cell as taught by VOGEDES to standardize the procedure (e.g., TS 38.300), so that gNB could have the ability to exclude some neighbors based on the satellite ephemeris of the serving NTN cell and neighbors. See VOGEDES, at ¶¶ 0242-0243.
Regarding claim 16, the combination of PIEROTH, BONNEY, and VOGEDES, as applied above, renders obvious the radio base station of claim 14. PIEROTH further discloses:
being operative to establish the communication over an X2 interface, the radio base station further being operative to: (P. 23, l. 29 – p.24, l. 2: Position Data exchange via X2 Setup procedure: The X2 Setup procedure which is already applied for exchange of configuration parameters of the eNBs could be enhanced with Position Data IE. For example, position data including the geographical position of the base station and the radius of the serving area of the cell may be added to ‘Served Cell Information' IE)
acquire an identifier of the neighbouring base station either by instructing a wireless communication device served by the radio base station to perform an Automatic Neighbour Relation, ANR, procedure, or by acquiring an identifier of the neighbouring base station with which the radio base station has been preconfigured. (P. 1, l. 29 – p. 2, l. 7: [I]t is known to provide an automatic neighbour relation function. The basics of Automatic Neighbour Relation (ANR) are defined in 3GPP 36.300, with further details in 3GPP 36.413 and 3GPP 36.331. The ANR function allows for each base station, referred to as eNB in the LTE mobile network, to detect its own neighbouring eNBs, to establish connections to those neighbouring base stations directly, via the so-called X2 interface described in 3GPP 36.423, and then, when necessary, hand over a user equipment to a neighbour base station using the so-called "handover procedure")
Claims 7, 8, 10, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over PIEROTH in view of BONNEY and VOGEDES, as applied above, and further in view of US 2024/0056509 (hereinafter, “BULAKCI”).
Regarding claim 7 and claim 20, the combination of PIEROTH, BONNEY, and VOGEDES, as applied above, renders obvious the method of claim 1 and the radio base station of claim 14, respectively. PIEROTH does not explicitly disclose:
further comprising:
updating a Neighbour Cell Relation Table, NCRT, with the acquired information and storing the updated NCRT.
In the same field of endeavor, however, BULAKCI teaches:
updating a Neighbour Cell Relation Table, NCRT, with the acquired information and storing the updated NCRT. (¶ 0195: NRF [network repository function, i.e., registry] of gNB1 or NRF of gNB2 may update their NCRTs)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify PIEROTH’s neighbor base station determination procedure to provide updating of a neighbor cell relation table (NCRT) as taught by BULAKCI to identify the target base station and provide an indication of the capabilities of the cell, so that the capabilities may be used for various decisions related to the newly detected cell, such as a handover decision to the cell for a UE, interference management with respect to the cell, load balancing with the cell, traffic steering with respect to the cell, addition of the cell as a secondary cell, mobility robustness optimization with respect to the cell, optimization of radio resource management with respect to the cell, and further measures of a self-optimizing network related to the cell. See BULAKCI, at ¶ 0195.
Regarding claim 8, the combination of PIEROTH and BONNEY, as applied above, renders obvious the method of claim 1. PIEROTH does not explicitly disclose:
further comprising:
updating a Neighbour Cell Relation Table, NCRT, with the acquired information and sending the updated NCRT to a central entity for storage.
In the same field of endeavor, however, BULAKCI teaches:
updating a Neighbour Cell Relation Table, NCRT, with the acquired information and sending the updated NCRT to a central entity for storage. (¶ 0195: NRF [network repository function, i.e., centralized registry] of gNB1 or NRF of gNB2 may update their NCRTs)
Regarding claim 10, the combination of PIEROTH, BONNEY, VOGEDES, and BULAKCI, as applied above, renders obvious the method of claim 7. PIEROTH does not explicitly disclose:
wherein updating of an entry in the NCRT is performed if the timestamp of the received information for said entry indicates that the received information is more current than the information already stored for said entry in the NCRT.
In the same field of endeavor, however, BULAKCI teaches:
updating of an entry in the NCRT is performed [using] received information [that] is more current than the information already stored for said entry in the NCRT. [The Examiner finds that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before Applicant’s application was filed, by drawing a reasonable inference and/or employing routine steps to conclude that the disclosed updating implicitly discloses substituting more current information for (less-current) information already stored in the NCRT—as indicated, e.g., through associated timestamp indicia.]
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure. For example, US 2023/0292213 to BULAKCI et al. discloses “communication systems support an exchange of PCI between network devices via the X2/Xn interface. Based on this exchange, a Neighbor Relation Table (NRT)/Neighbor Cell Relation table (NCRT) is set up within each network device.”
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to Garth D Richmond whose telephone number is (703)756-4559. The Examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET.
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, Kathy Wang-Hurst can be reached at 571-270-5371. 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.
/GARTH D RICHMOND/Examiner, Art Unit 2644
/KATHY W WANG-HURST/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2644
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