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 .
Application, submitted on 10/25/2023, has been received, entered, and made of record. Currently, claims 1-10, 12-17, and 20-23 remain pending in the application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 10/25/2023 and 03/18/2025 were filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. However, Applicant has not provided an explanation of relevance of cited document(s).
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 1, 2, 12-14, and 20-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C.103 as being unpatentable over Murray et al. (US 2023/0007624 A1, hereinafter referred to as Murray) in view of Wu et al. (US 2023/0345417 A1, hereinafter referred to as Wu).
Referring to claim 1, Murray discloses a method for determining a cause, performed by a base station (fig.28, gNB) in a notification area where a terminal (fig.28, UE) in an inactive state is located ([0397]) (Note: the reference discloses a UE in RRC_INACTVE state), the method comprising:
receiving communication information that needs to be sent to the terminal from a core network (fig.28 and [0399]) (Note: the gNB receives paging message that needs to be sent to the UE from a core network (CN)); and
determining a paging cause for paging the terminal based on the communication information (fig.28, [0400]-[0401], and [0394]) (Note: the gNB examines the paging request/downlink data and determines if the UE should be paged (determines paging cause). If the gNB determines the UE should be paged, the gNB transmits a paging message to the UE, wherein the paging message includes a paging cause and other information about the page).
Murray fails to disclose a base station in a Radio Access Network (RAN) notification area (RNA) where a terminal in an inactive state is located.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Wu discloses a base station in a Radio Access Network (RAN) notification area (RNA) where a terminal in an inactive state is located ([0056]-[0057]) (Note: the reference discloses a base station in a Radio Access Network (RAN) notification area (RNA) where a UE in an inactive mode is located).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention by the applicant to modify the method of Murray with a base station in a Radio Access Network (RAN) notification area (RNA) where a terminal in an inactive state is located as taught by Wu. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to optimize management of user equipment in an inactive state by reducing location updates, reducing overall signaling load, reducing connection resume time, and making the paging process faster and more efficient.
Referring to claim 2, Murray in view Wu discloses the method according to claim 1.
Wu discloses wherein the base station comprises at least one of: an anchor base station of the terminal in the RNA, or other base station than the anchor base station in the RNA ([0056]-[0057]) (Note: the reference discloses a serving base station (anchor base station) in the RNA or other base station than the serving base station in the RNA).
The same motivation provided for claim 1 is applicable herein.
Referring to claim 12, Murray in view Wu discloses the method according to claim 1.
Murray further discloses sending a paging signaling to the terminal, wherein the paging cause is carried in the paging signaling ([0401]) (Note: the gNB transmits a paging message to the UE, wherein the paging message includes a paging cause and other information about the page).
Referring to claim 13, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 1 is applicable herein. Murray further discloses method for indicating a cause, performed by a core network (fig.28, CN (NW2)).
Referring to claim 14, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 2 is applicable herein.
Referring to claim 20, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 1 is applicable herein. Murray further discloses base station (fig.1, gNB) comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing a computer program (fig.33F, [0479] and [0486]).
Referring to claim 21, Murray in view Wu discloses the method of claim 13 as implemented. Murray further discloses a communication device (fig.28, CN (NW2)), comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing a computer program; wherein when the computer program is executed by the processor (fig.33F, [0479] and [0486]).
Referring to claim 22, Murray in view Wu discloses the method of claim 1 as implemented. Murray further discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor ([0486]).
Referring to claim 23, Murray in view Wu discloses the method of claim 13 as implemented. Murray further discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor ([0486]).
Claims 3-10 and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C.103 as being unpatentable over Murray in view of Wu, and further in view of Fan (US 2023/0362885 A1).
Referring to claim 3, Murray in view Wu discloses the method according to claim 2, except wherein determining the paging cause for paging the terminal based on the communication information comprises: determining the paging cause based on at least one of: a type of a signaling in the communication information and/or a quality of service of data in the communication information.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Fan discloses wherein determining the paging cause for paging the terminal based on the communication information comprises: determining the paging cause based on at least one of: a type of a signaling in the communication information and/or a quality of service of data in the communication information ([0123]) (Note: after obtaining the paging cause value assistance information, the first access network device determines the first paging cause value according to a QoS flow value of the terminal device and a mapping relationship between QoS flow values and paging cause values).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention by the applicant to modify the method of Murray in view of Wu with a concept wherein determining the paging cause for paging the terminal based on the communication information comprises: determining the paging cause based on a quality of service of data in the communication information as taught by Fan. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to optimize network resources, enhance user experience, and prioritize critical traffic.
Referring to claim 4, Murray in view of Wu and Fan discloses the method according to claim 3. Fan discloses wherein when the base station is the anchor base station (fig.2, first access network device), the method further comprises: sending the paging cause to the other base station (fig.2 and [0047]-[0050]) (Note: the first access network device transmits a paging message to a second access network device, the paging message including a first paging cause value, and wherein the first access network device may be an anchor access network device in a paging process transmitted by the access network).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention by the applicant to modify the method of Murray in view of Wu with a concept wherein when the base station is the anchor base station, the method further comprises: sending the paging cause to the other base station as taught by Fan. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to reduce overall signaling load, reduce connection resume time, and make the paging process faster and more efficient.
Referring to claim 5, Murray in view of Wu and Fan discloses the method according to claim 4. Fan discloses receiving, by the other base station, the paging cause from the anchor base station, and carrying the paging cause in a paging signaling sent to the terminal (fig.2 and [0047]-[0050]) (Note: the first access network device transmits a paging message to a second access network device, the paging message including a first paging cause value. The second access network device transmits the paging message to a terminal device, wherein the first access network device may be an anchor access network device).
The same motivation provided for claim 4 is applicable herein.
Referring to claim 6, Murray in view of Wu and Fan discloses the method according to claim 4. Fan discloses sending first indication information to the other base station, wherein the first indication information is configured to indicate the other base station to carry the paging cause in a paging signaling sent to the terminal (fig.2 and [0047]-[0050]) (Note: the first access network device transmits a paging message to a second access network device, the paging message including a first paging cause value. The second access network device transmits the paging message to a terminal device, wherein the first access network device may be an anchor access network device).
The same motivation provided for claim 4 is applicable herein.
Referring to claim 7, Murray in view of Wu and Fan discloses the method according to claim 3. Fan discloses wherein when the base station is the other base station, the method further comprises: receiving second indication information from the anchor base station; and determining that the paging cause is carried in a paging signaling sent to the terminal based on the second indication information (fig.2 and [0047]-[0050]) (Note: the first access network device transmits a paging message to a second access network device, the paging message including a first paging cause value. The second access network device transmits the paging message to a terminal device, wherein the first access network device may be an anchor access network device).
The same motivation provided for claim 4 is applicable herein.
Referring to claim 8, Murray in view of Wu discloses the method according to claim 2, except wherein determining the paging cause for paging the terminal based on the communication information comprises: determining the paging cause based on cause indication information in the communication information.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Fan discloses wherein determining the paging cause for paging the terminal based on the communication information comprises: determining the paging cause based on cause indication information in the communication information ([0123]) (Note: after obtaining the paging cause value assistance information, the first access network device determines the first paging cause value according to a QoS flow value of the terminal device).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention by the applicant to modify the method of Murray in view of Wu with a concept of determining the paging cause based on cause indication information in the communication information as taught by Fan. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to enhance efficiency, optimize resource use, and conserve user equipment (UE) battery life.
Referring to claim 9, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 4 is applicable herein.
Referring to claim 10, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 5 is applicable herein.
Referring to claim 15, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 4 is applicable herein.
Referring to claim 16, Murray in view of Wu discloses the method according to claim 15, except wherein when the base station is the anchor base station, the method further comprises: sending fourth indication information to the anchor base station, wherein the fourth indication information is configured to indicate the anchor base station to send the paging cause determined to the other base station.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Fan discloses a concept wherein when the base station is the anchor base station (fig.2, first access network device), the method further comprises: sending fourth indication information to the anchor base station, wherein the fourth indication information is configured to indicate the anchor base station to send the paging cause determined to the other base station (fig.2 and [0047]-[0050]) (Note: the first access network device transmits a paging message to a second access network device, the paging message including a first paging cause value, and wherein the first access network device may be an anchor access network device in a paging process transmitted by the access network).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention by the applicant to modify the method of Murray in view of Wu with a concept wherein when the base station is the anchor base station, the method further comprises: sending fourth indication information to the anchor base station, wherein the fourth indication information is configured to indicate the anchor base station to send the paging cause determined to the other base station as taught by Fan. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to reduce overall signaling load, reduce connection resume time, and make the paging process faster and more efficient.
Referring to claim 17, Murray in view of Wu discloses the method according to claim 13, except comprising: determining the paging cause based on the communication information, and generating cause indication information based on the paging cause; and sending the cause indication information to the base station, wherein the cause indication information is configured for the base station to determine the paging cause.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Fan discloses a concept of determining the paging cause based on the communication information, and generating cause indication information based on the paging cause; and sending the cause indication information to the base station, wherein the cause indication information is configured for the base station to determine the paging cause (fig.4 and [0064]-[0069], and [0051]-[0052]) (Note: the core network device determines the paging cause based on the communication information with the first access network device, and generates a paging cause value assistance information based on the paging cause; sends the cause indication information to the base station (first access network device), wherein the cause indication information is configured for the base station to determine the paging cause).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention by the applicant to modify the method of Murray in view of Wu with a concept of determining the paging cause based on the communication information, and generating cause indication information based on the paging cause; and sending the cause indication information to the base station, wherein the cause indication information is configured for the base station to determine the paging cause as taught by Fan. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to reduce overall signaling load, and make the paging process faster and more efficient.
Conclusion
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/MOUSTAPHA DIABY/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2682