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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/25/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/21/2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 10 and 22 is objected to because of the following informalities: pg. 37 line 6 states “SIB2” without expanding the acronym. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 12 and 24 is objected to because of the following informalities: pg. 37 line 10 states “SIB26a” without expanding the acronym. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(f)
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
Claim 28 is/are rejected under 35 USC § 112(f) as being unpatentable. Dependent claims 29 and 30 are rejected due to their dependency off of Claim 28.
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) 1-6, 13-18, 25-26, and 28-29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Youtz (Pub. No.: US 20210337448 A1, hereafter “Youtz”) in view of Kang (Pub. No.: US 20220167298 A1, hereafter “Kang”).
Regarding Claim 1, Claim 13, Claim 25 and Claim 28
A user equipment (UE) (Youtz Fig. 1: 199) for wireless communication, comprising: a memory (Youtz Fig. 4: 415); and one or more processors (Youtz Fig. 4: 410; Youtz teaches an end device with memory coupled with the processor), coupled to the memory, configured to: identify (Youtz ¶0033: perform cell selection accordingly) a multi-radio access technology (multi-RAT) dual connectivity (DC) (MR-DC) capable cell (Youtz Fig. 1: 105, access network, for example a multi-RAT (MR-DC), see ¶0023; Youtz teaches an end device performing cell selection based off the access network, which can include elements of an MR-DC); assign (Youtz ¶0033: cell selection) a priority (Youtz ¶0033: prioritize data in order of priority) to the MR-DC capable cell based at least in part on at least one of (Youtz ¶0033: priority data; Youtz teaches cell selection based off of data and an associated prioritization for the cells):
whether system information block (SIB) information (Youtz ¶0033: SIB) indicating frequency bands (Youtz ¶0032: frequency range 1, e.g. FR1) supported by a network for MR-DC operation (Youtz Fig. 1: 105, access network, for example a multi-RAT (MR-DC), see ¶0023) in the MR-DC capable cell is available (Youtz ¶0033: LTE cell broadcasts the SIB message; Youtz teaches a system information block being used for cell prioritization, which includes frequency bands with the cells broadcasting its functionality), or MR-DC connectivity information (Youtz ¶0032: end device may access through RRC connected mode), associated with the MR-DC capable cell (Youtz Fig. 1: 105, access network, for example a multi-RATE (MR-DC), see ¶0023), indicating whether at least one frequency band is available to support MR-DC operation (Youtz ¶0032: dual connectivity; Youtz teaches the end device accessing the cell through an RRC connected mode with potentially dual connectivity); and perform a cell selection procedure (Youtz ¶0033: perform cell selection accordingly) or a cell reselection procedure (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim) based at least in part on the priority assigned to the MR-DC capable cell (Youtz ¶0033: End device perform cell selection accordingly, e.g. use the priority cell/band selection that was just sent to the UE; Youtz teaches cell selection based off of the prioritization).
Youtz does not explicitly teach
whether information indicating whether dual connectivity is supported for the UE in a tracking area (TA) associated with the MR-DC capable cell is available, the information indicating whether dual connectivity is supported for the UE in the TA associated with the MR-DC capable cell,
However, Kang teaches
whether information indicating whether dual connectivity is supported (Kang ¶0118-¶0121: cell of second RAT is possible) for the UE in a tracking area (TA) (Kang ¶0118-¶0121: tracking area update request message) associated with the MR-DC capable cell (Kang ¶0079: MR-DC environment) is available (Kang ¶0118-¶0121: second RAT is supported in operation 603; Kang teaches an indication for a second RAT is available from a first RAT in an MR-DC environment that can include the tracking area), the information indicating whether dual connectivity is supported for the UE (Kang ¶0118-¶0121: UECapabilityInformation message, the message can contain information relating to MR-DC capability, see ¶0108) in the TA associated with the MR-DC capable cell (Kang ¶0118-¶0121: message generated at 603 can contain UECapabilityInformation message; Examiner’s note, this section does not inherently require patentable weight due to a non-selective option, however, for the sake of compact prosecution, has been given weight; Kang teaches the UE capability information being transferred relating to dual connectivity),
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Youtz by way of Kang, to include an element that teaches an indication for a second RAT is available from a first RAT in an MR-DC environment that can include the tracking area and that the UE capability information being transferred relating to dual connectivity, as taught by Kang in ¶0079, ¶0108, and ¶0118-¶0121, to better improve RAT communication among different communication systems and use the optimal elements of both elements and allow systems to use un-upgraded systems.
Claim 25 differs by the following limitation, which is also taught by the prior art, Youtz teaches
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication (Youtz Fig. 4: 415)
Regarding Claim 2, Claim 14, Claim 26, and Claim 29
Youtz in view of Kang teaches a UE, method, non-transitory medium, and apparatus comprising the method and system as explained above in Claim 1. Youtz teaches
wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine the MR-DC connectivity information based at least in part on the SIB information indicating the frequency bands supported by the network for MR-DC operation (Youtz ¶0032: FR1 and FR2) in the MR-DC capable cell (Youtz Fig. 2: 200, wireless environment) and UE capability information indicating frequency bands supported by the UE for MR-DC operation (Youtz ¶0032: FR1 and FR2) in the MR-DC capable cell (Youtz ¶0032: frequency ranges for dual connectivity; Youtz teaches indicating the frequency bands used for dual connectivity).
Regarding Claim 3 and Claim 15
Youtz in view of Kang teaches a UE, method, non-transitory medium, and apparatus comprising the method and system as explained above in Claim 1. Kang teaches
wherein a low priority (Kang Fig. 6: 603) is assigned to the MR-DC capable cell based at least in part on the information indicating whether dual connectivity is supported for the UE in the TA being available (Kang ¶0119-¶0120: supported in operation 603) and indicating that dual connectivity is not supported for the UE in the TA (Kang ¶0119-¶0120: UECapabilityInformation message; Kang teaches a system selection operation that includes the ability for the UE to note its supported options, and, the capabilities of the UE to be sent for the selection process).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Youtz by way of Kang, to include an element that teaches a system selection operation that includes the ability for the UE to note its supported options, and, the capabilities of the UE to be sent for the selection process, as taught by Kang in Fig. 6 and ¶0118-¶0120, to better improve RAT communication among different communication systems and use the optimal elements of both elements and allow systems to use un-upgraded systems.
Regarding Claim 4 and Claim 16
Youtz in view of Kang teaches a UE, method, non-transitory medium, and apparatus comprising the method and system as explained above in Claim 1. Kang teaches
wherein a high priority (Kang Fig. 6: 603) is assigned to the MR-DC capable cell based at least in part on: the information indicating whether dual connectivity is supported for the UE in the TA being unavailable (Kang ¶0119-¶0120: UECapabilityInformation message), or being available and indicating that dual connectivity is supported for the UE in the TA, and the SIB information being unavailable (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Kang teaches a message related to the capabilities of the UE and TA information, for dual connectivity).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Youtz by way of Kang, to include an element that teaches a message related to the capabilities of the UE and TA information, for dual connectivity, as taught by Kang in Fig. 6 and ¶0118-¶0120, to better improve RAT communication among different communication systems and use the optimal elements of both elements and allow systems to use un-upgraded systems.
Regarding Claim 5 and Claim 17
Youtz in view of Kang teaches a UE, method, non-transitory medium, and apparatus comprising the method and system as explained above in Claim 1. Kang teaches
wherein a high priority (Kang Fig. 6: 603) is assigned to the MR-DC capable cell based at least in part on: the information indicating whether dual connectivity is supported for the UE in the TA being unavailable (Kang ¶0119-¶0120: UECapabilityInformation message), or being available and indicating that dual connectivity is supported for the UE in the TA, the SIB information being available, and the MR-DC connectivity information indicating that at least one frequency band is available to support MR-DC operation (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Kang teaches a message related to the capabilities of the UE and TA information, for dual connectivity).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Youtz by way of Kang, to include an element that teaches a message related to the capabilities of the UE and TA information, for dual connectivity, as taught by Kang in Fig. 6 and ¶0118-¶0120, to better improve RAT communication among different communication systems and use the optimal elements of both elements and allow systems to use un-upgraded systems.
Regarding Claim 6 and Claim 18
Youtz in view of Kang teaches a UE, method, non-transitory medium, and apparatus comprising the method and system as explained above in Claim 1. Kang teaches
wherein a low priority (Kang Fig. 6: 603) is assigned to the MR-DC capable cell based at least in part on: the information indicating whether dual connectivity is supported for the UE in the TA being unavailable (Kang ¶0119-¶0120: UECapabilityInformation message), or being available and indicating that dual connectivity is supported for the UE in the TA, the SIB information being available, and the MR-DC connectivity information indicating that no frequency band is available to support MR-DC operation (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Kang teaches a message related to the capabilities of the UE and TA information, for dual connectivity).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Youtz by way of Kang, to include an element that teaches a message related to the capabilities of the UE and TA information, for dual connectivity, as taught by Kang in Fig. 6 and ¶0118-¶0120, to better improve RAT communication among different communication systems and use the optimal elements of both elements and allow systems to use un-upgraded systems.
Claim(s) 7-11, 19-23, 27, and 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Youtz (Pub. No.: US 20210337448 A1, hereafter “Youtz”) in view of Kang (Pub. No.: US 20220167298 A1, hereafter “Kang”), further in view of Mattam (Pub. No.: US 20210185753 A1, hereafter “Mattam”).
Regarding Claim 7, Claim 19, Claim 27, and Claim 30
Youtz in view of Kang teaches a UE, method, non-transitory medium, and apparatus comprising the method and system as explained above in Claim 1.
Youtz in view of Kang does not explicitly teach
wherein the MR-DC capable cell is identified based at least in part on a database, stored on the UE, that identifies one or more MR-DC capable cells.
However, Mattam teaches
wherein the MR-DC capable cell (Mattam Fig. 5A: 106, eNB) is identified based at least in part on a database (Mattam ¶0061: capabilities of the UE in its database), stored on the UE (Mattam Fig. 5A: 100, UE), that identifies one or more MR-DC capable cells (Mattam ¶0057: detects the change in MR-DC capability; Mattam teaches an eNB detecting a change on MR-DC capability related to a UE related to a database).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Youtz in view of Kang by way of Mattam, to include an element that teaches an eNB detecting a change on MR-DC capability related to a UE related to a database, as taught by Mattam in Fig. 5A and ¶0057-¶0061, to better improve multi-RAT communication systems to activate and de-activate UE capabilities dynamically for certain scenarios such as low battery or high temperature triggers.
Regarding Claim 8 and Claim 20
Youtz in view of Kang, further in view of Mattam teaches a UE, method, non-transitory medium, and apparatus comprising the method and system as explained above in Claim 7. Mattam teaches
wherein information identifying the MR-DC capable cell is stored in the database based at least in part on a secondary cell group (SCG) (Mattam ¶0059: SCG indication message) addition associated with the MR-DC capable cell (Mattam ¶0059: MR-DC connectivity; Mattam teaches an SCG indication message associated with MR-DC connectivity).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Youtz in view of Kang by way of Mattam, to include an element that teaches an SCG indication message associated with MR-DC connectivity, as taught by Mattam in ¶0059, to better improve multi-RAT communication systems to activate and de-activate UE capabilities dynamically for certain scenarios such as low battery or high temperature triggers.
Regarding Claim 9 and Claim 21
Youtz in view of Kang, further in view of Mattam teaches a UE, method, non-transitory medium, and apparatus comprising the method and system as explained above in Claim 7. Mattam teaches
wherein information identifying the MR-DC capable cell is stored in the database based at least in part on the UE receiving a measurement configuration (Mattam ¶0052: deactivate the secondary RAT from the dual connectivity of the UE) for the MR-DC capable cell that is associated with a particular RAT (Mattam ¶0052: secondary RAT; Mattam teaches the UE deactivating a dual connection with a secondary RAT cell).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Youtz in view of Kang by way of Mattam, to include an element that teaches the UE deactivating a dual connection with a secondary RAT cell, as taught by Mattam in ¶0052, to better improve multi-RAT communication systems to activate and de-activate UE capabilities dynamically for certain scenarios such as low battery or high temperature triggers.
Regarding Claim 10 and Claim 22
Youtz in view of Kang, further in view of Mattam teaches a UE, method, non-transitory medium, and apparatus comprising the method and system as explained above in Claim 7. Youtz further teaches
wherein information identifying the MR-DC capable cell is stored in the database based at least in part on an upper layer indication received by the UE in SIB2 (Youtz ¶0034: suitable SIB message type SIB 2; Youtz teaches an SIB 2 message sent to the end device).
Regarding Claim 11 and Claim 23
Youtz in view of Kang teaches a UE, method, non-transitory medium, and apparatus comprising the method and system as explained above in Claim 1. Mattam teaches
wherein the MR-DC capable cell is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) New Radio (NR) dual connectivity (EN-DC) capable cell (Mattam ¶0061: procedure between UE and EUTRAN; Mattam teaches the communication with the EN-DC cell is a EUTRAN).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Youtz in view of Kang by way of Mattam, to include an element that teaches the communication with the EN-DC cell is a EUTRAN, as taught by Mattam in ¶0061, to better improve multi-RAT communication systems to activate and de-activate UE capabilities dynamically for certain scenarios such as low battery or high temperature triggers.
Claim(s) 12 and 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Youtz (Pub. No.: US 20210337448 A1, hereafter “Youtz”) in view of Kang (Pub. No.: US 20220167298 A1, hereafter “Kang”), further in view of NTT Docomo (3GPP TSG-RAN WG2 #111 electronic, 17th – 28th August 2020 [online], Retrieved from the Internet <URL: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.3gpp.org%2Fftp%2Ftsg_ran%2FWG2_RL2%2FTSGR2_111-e%2FInbox%2FDrafts%2F%255BOffline-009%255D%255BNR15%255D%2520LTE%2520SIB%2520extension%2520issue%2520(NTT%2520DOCOMO)%2FDRAFT_R2-20xxxxx_Report_LTE-SIB-Ext_v3_ERI.docx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK > [retrieved on 3-3-2026], hereafter “NTT Docomo”)
Regarding Claim 12 and Claim 24
Youtz in view of Kang teaches a UE, method, non-transitory medium, and apparatus comprising the method and system as explained above in Claim 1. Youtz in view of Kang does not explicitly teach
wherein the SIB information is associated with SIB26a
However, NTT Docomo teaches
wherein the SIB information is associated with SIB26a (NTT Docomo, 2.3, Option 2: system information block 26a).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Youtz in view by way of NTT Docomo, to include an element that teaches a system information block with the value of 26a, as taught by NTT Docomo in 2.3, Option 2, to improve communication systems by allowing further information density and allow more efficient systems.
Conclusion
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/JUSTIN MICHAEL WHITAKER/Examiner, Art Unit 2415
/Sudesh M. Patidar/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415