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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 08/24/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 08/24/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues, on page 10 first paragraph after the amended claim that no new matter has been added. The examiner respectfully disagrees. The claim added the new matter of sending a write replace warning request from the gateway to a local broadcast center. Paragraphs [0087]-[0089] and Fig. 5 disclose generating the write replace warning request by the cell broadcast 228 or 230.
Applicant argues, on page 10 third paragraph after the amended claim, that Edge does not disclose this locally-initiated message flow from the in-facility/local side toward the mobility-management side of the cellular network before onward distribution to radio access nodes. The examiner respectfully disagrees. Edge Fig. 6 discloses this message flow from gateway 612 to MME 606 of the cellular network before distributing the message to radio access node eNB 604.
Applicant argues, on page 10 last paragraph, that claim 1 requires that the gateway itself, rather than an intermediate broadcast entity, be the originator of the alert text transmission request. The examiner respectfully disagrees. The alert is originated in Alert Gateway 612 in Edge. Applicant argues further that Edge's alert gateway 612 performs no such direct transmission to a local cell broadcast center and Edge does not disclose a gateway sending an alert text transmission request to a local cell broadcast center as claimed.. The examiner respectfully disagrees. The claim does not recite direct transmission to the CBC. Edge Fig. 6 discloses alert transmission from the gateway 612 to CBC 608 (via CBE) , but Edge [0042] also discloses “CMSP gateway 408 may also be referred to as Cell Broadcast Entity (CBE)”. Therefore, Edge, discloses transmission of the emergency request is originated at the gateway and transmitted to the CBC as required by the claim. Applicant argues, on page 11 first paragraph, that Edge's alert gateway 612 delivers alert information to a CBE 610, not directly from an in-facility gateway to a local cell broadcast center. The examiner respectfully disagrees. because the claim does not recite “directly”, Edge transmitting the request from CBE 610 to CBC 608 teaches the claim requirement.
Applicant argues, on page 11 second paragraph, that transmitting downstream traffic as in Edge requires more bandwidth usage of the network and individual systems, instead of sending a locally- initiated alert message to a cellular network. The examiner respectfully disagrees. The claim does not refer anywhere to bandwidth usage. Edge discloses sending the message from the gateway to the cellular network without mentioning “downstream”. Edge discloses similar transmission of the alert message as in the present application which is obvious from comparing Fig. 6 of Edge to Fig.5 of the present application.
Applicant argues, on page 12 first paragraph, that Edge does not teach or suggest sending a locally-initiated wireless emergency alert message through a cellular network. The examiner respectfully disagrees. Edge [0032] discloses alert messages may originate from local emergency operations centers (EOCs). Edge [0034] discloses sending received alert information from local EOC to CPSP network.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-6, 36, 42, 47, and 49-59 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Independent Claims 1, 42, and 47, each recites “sending from. . . (WGA) gateway . . . , a write replace warning request to a local cell broadcast center”. The original specification does not support this limitation but discloses generating the write replace request in the cell broadcast center. Therefore, independent claims 1, 42 and 47 are rejected. Dependent claims 2-6, 36, and 49-59 are rejected for depending from a corresponding independent claim.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 42 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Edge et al. (US 20190246260 A1).
Regarding claim 42, Edge et al. teach A non-transitory computer readable program product (Note: inherent in a wireless Node) for providing a wireless emergency alert message for a facility, the non-transitory computer readable program product having instructions that, when read by at least one processor (processor 1030 in Fig. 10), cause the at least one processor to execute, or direct execution of, operations of -comprising:
receiving an alert for an emergency event (Edge [0042] A CMSP core network (CN) 406 (e.g. corresponding to CMSP network 104 in FIG. 1 and CMSP network 204 in FIG. 2A) receives alerts including impact area information, Edge [0065] alert information may be transmitted from the alert gateway 612 to CBE 610. For example, the alert information may include general information regarding an emergency event) at an in-facility network of the facility (Edge [0032] alert messages may originate from ... local emergency operations centers (EOCs), Edge [0039] an impacted area represented by an elliptical shape 302a is overlaid on the coverage area of the access network 300 , [0075] The geographic area may include or comprise a polygon, a circle, an ellipse or some other two-dimensional area or possibly three-dimensional volume (e.g. such as corresponding to the upper floors of a tall building. Note: an in facility network is interpreted as CMCP Core Network (CN) 406 in Fig. 4 serving the facility interpreted as the tall building);
identifying an emergency incident area of the facility based on the alert (Edge [0066] process the received emergency broadcast request information to generate a list of impacted cells (or impacted tracking areas or impacted emergency areas). The impacted cells (or impacted tracking areas or emergency areas) may comprise cells (or tracking areas or emergency areas) whose coverage areas (e.g. normal coverage area and/or extended coverage area) are totally within the impact area or at least partially within the impact area.); and
in response to the identification, sending, from an in-facility wireless emergency alert (WEA) gateway ([0042] CMSP gateway 408 may also be referred to as Cell Broadcast Entity (CBE) ) forming a portion of the in-facility network (Edge Fig. 4 showing CPSP Gateway (CBE) as portion of CMSP Core Network 406) a write replace warning request comprising the wireless emergency alert message to a local cell broadcast center of a cellular network (Edge [0032] alert messages may originate from ... local emergency operations centers (EOCs) ... The alert information is then provided to a CMSP network 204), Edge [0042] CMSP gateway 408 may also be referred to as Cell Broadcast Entity (CBE), Edge [0065] the CBE 610 may transmit an emergency broadcast request signal (e.g. a message) containing the alert information to the CBC 608); and
sending the wireless emergency alert message through a cellular network to one or more wireless devices within the emergency incident area (Edge [0034] The CMSP network 204 is configured to generate alert messages including geographic boundaries and broadcast the alert messages to one or more mobile devices 208, Edge [0046] the base stations, comprising the eNBs 422a-d, ng-eNB 432 and gNB 434 broadcast the alert message (e.g. using a SIB12) to UEs 405 in their respective coverage areas, Edge [0069] ENB 604 may then broadcast the warning message in the determined cells, Edge [0072] a UE 602 which receives an alert from an interior cell or cell sector may perform user alerting immediately).
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 1-6, 36, 47, 49-53, and 59 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Edge et al. in view of Verna et al. (US 20190266871 A1)
Regarding claim 1, Edge et al. teach A method of providing a wireless emergency alert message for a facility, the method comprising:
receiving an alert for an emergency event (Edge [0042] A CMSP core network (CN) 406 (e.g. corresponding to CMSP network 104 in FIG. 1 and CMSP network 204 in FIG. 2A) receives alerts including impact area information, Edge [0065] alert information may be transmitted from the alert gateway 612 to CBE 610. For example, the alert information may include general information regarding an emergency event) at an in-facility network (Edge [0032] alert messages may originate from ... local emergency operations centers (EOCs), Edge [0039] an impacted area represented by an elliptical shape 302a is overlaid on the coverage area of the access network 300 , [0075] The geographic area may include or comprise a polygon, a circle, an ellipse or some other two-dimensional area or possibly three-dimensional volume (e.g. such as corresponding to the upper floors of a tall building. Note: an in facility network is interpreted as CMCP Core Network (CN) 406 in Fig. 4 serving the facility interpreted as the tall building);
identifying an emergency incident area of the facility based on the alert (Edge [0066] process the received emergency broadcast request information to generate a list of impacted cells (or impacted tracking areas or impacted emergency areas). The impacted cells (or impacted tracking areas or emergency areas) may comprise cells (or tracking areas or emergency areas) whose coverage areas (e.g. normal coverage area and/or extended coverage area) are totally within the impact area or at least partially within the impact area.);
in response to the identification, sending, from an in-facility wireless emergency alert (WEA) gateway ([0042] CMSP gateway 408 may also be referred to as Cell Broadcast Entity (CBE) ) forming a portion of the in-facility network (Edge Fig. 4 showing CPSP Gateway (CBE) as portion of CMSP Core Network 406) a write replace warning request comprising the wireless emergency alert message to a local cell broadcast center of a cellular network (Edge [0032] alert messages may originate from ... local emergency operations centers (EOCs) ... The alert information is then provided to a CMSP network 204), Edge [0042] CMSP gateway 408 may also be referred to as Cell Broadcast Entity (CBE), Edge [0065] the CBE 610 may transmit an emergency broadcast request signal (e.g. a message) containing the alert information to the CBC 608); and
sending the wireless emergency alert message through a cellular network to one or more wireless devices within the emergency incident area (Edge [0034] The CMSP network 204 is configured to generate alert messages including geographic boundaries and broadcast the alert messages to one or more mobile devices 208, Edge [0046] the base stations, comprising the eNBs 422a-d, ng-eNB 432 and gNB 434 broadcast the alert message (e.g. using a SIB12) to UEs 405 in their respective coverage areas, Edge [0069] ENB 604 may then broadcast the warning message in the determined cells, Edge [0072] a UE 602 which receives an alert from an interior cell or cell sector may perform user alerting immediately).
Edge et al. do not teach
receiving an alert from a sensor at a fixed location in the facility.
In a similar endeavor, Verna et al. teach
receiving an alert from a sensor at a fixed location in the facility (Verna [0083] the one or more sensors in and/or associated with the residence can detect an activity (e.g., window opens, door opens, smoke detected, etc.))..
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 Edge et al. method by incorporating Verna et al. sensor sending an alert to arrive at the invention
The motivation of doing so would have detected the emergency event using the sensor..
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Edge et al. and Venna et al. teaches The method of claim 1, further comprising:
mapping a location of the emergency event to one or more cells of the cellular network that serve the emergency incident area (Edge [0044] decide in which cells (or in which tracking areas or emergency areas which may map to cells) an alert message needs to be broadcast based on the impact area);
generating the wireless emergency alert message for the one or more cells (Edge [0046] AMF 416 may perform a corresponding role with respect to transferring the alert message along with a list of cells and the interior/exterior classifications to one or more of gNBs 434); and
sending the wireless emergency alert message to the one or more cells for distribution to the one or more wireless devices within the emergency incident area (Edge [0046] the base stations, comprising the eNBs 422a-d, ng-eNB 432 and gNB 434 broadcast the alert message (e.g. using a SIB12) to UEs 405 in their respective coverage areas).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Edge et al. and Venna et al. teaches The method of claim 1, further comprising:
obtaining a category for the emergency event (Edge [0032] An alert message may be triggered by various types of emergencies, such as an earthquake, a tsunami, a flood, a tornado, a wildfire, an act of terrorism, acts of war, civil unrest, and/or child abduction (e.g., an AMBER alert));
determining the emergency incident area of the facility based at least in part on the category (Edge [0030] the WEA system 100 may generate and provide alert messages to notify users about a geographically specific emergency such as an earthquake, a tsunami, a flood, a tornado, a wildfire, an act of terrorism, a child abduction (e.g., an AMBER alert));
mapping a location of the emergency event to one or more cells of the cellular network that serve the emergency incident area (Edge [0044] decide in which cells (or in which tracking areas or emergency areas which may map to cells) an alert message needs to be broadcast based on the impact area);
generating the wireless emergency alert message for the one or more cells (Edge [0046] AMF 416 may perform a corresponding role with respect to transferring the alert message along with a list of cells and the interior/exterior classifications to one or more of gNBs 434); and
sending the wireless emergency alert message to the one or more cells for distribution to the one or more wireless devices within the emergency incident area (Edge [0046] the base stations, comprising the eNBs 422a-d, ng-eNB 432 and gNB 434 broadcast the alert message (e.g. using a SIB12) to UEs 405 in their respective coverage areas).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Edge et al. and Venna et al. teaches The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving an alerting request incorporating the wireless emergency alert message (Edge [0065] the CBE 610 may transmit an emergency broadcast request signal (e.g. a message) containing the alert information to the CBC 608);
generating a write request incorporating the wireless emergency alert message (Edge [0067] a write-replace warning request message to MME 606 containing the warning message and the delivery attributes);
selecting one or more area identifiers corresponding to the emergency incident area wherein each of the one or more area identifiers is associated with a corresponding destination cell of the cellular network (Edge [0066] process the received emergency broadcast request information to generate a list of impacted cells (or impacted tracking areas or impacted emergency areas). The impacted cells (or impacted tracking areas or emergency areas) may comprise cells (or tracking areas or emergency areas) whose coverage areas (e.g. normal coverage area and/or extended coverage area) are totally within the impact area or at least partially within the impact area.);
sending the write request and the one or more area identifiers to a mobility management mechanism (Edge [0067] CBC 608 may be configured to transmit a write-replace warning request message to MME 606 containing the warning message and the delivery attributes (e.g., one or more of a message identifier, serial number, tracking area ID list, warning area, an Operation and Maintenance Center (OMC) identity (ID), a Concurrent Warning Message (CWM) indicator, a send write-replace-warning indication, and/or a global eNB ID) to the MME 606); and
receiving a confirmation message from the mobility management mechanism indicating that the wireless emergency alert message has been distributed to the corresponding destination cell (Edge [0069] the MME 606 may transmit a write-replace warning confirm message back to the CBC 608 at operation 620... MME 606 forwards the write-replace warning request message to eNB 604 after utilizing the tracking area ID list received from the CBC 608 to determine eNB 604 and other eNBs to which the warning message should be sent).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Edge et al. and Venna et al. teaches The method of claim 1, wherein the cellular network comprises a 4G network (Edge [0042] A CBC 410a may be used in an LTE architecture ), a 5G network (Edge [0042] a CBC Function (CBCF) 410b may be used to in a 5G architecture), or both, the method further comprising:
receiving an alerting request at a local cell broadcast center of the cellular network, the alerting request incorporating the wireless emergency alert message (Edge [0065] the CBE 610 may transmit an emergency broadcast request signal (e.g. a message) containing the alert information to the CBC 608);
generating a write replace warning request incorporating the wireless emergency alert message (Edge [0067] a write-replace warning request message to MME 606 containing the warning message and the delivery attributes);
selecting one or more tracking area identifiers corresponding to the emergency incident area, wherein each tracking area identifier is associated with a corresponding destination cell of the cellular network (Edge [0066] process the received emergency broadcast request information to generate a list of impacted cells (or impacted tracking areas or impacted emergency areas). The impacted cells (or impacted tracking areas or emergency areas) may comprise cells (or tracking areas or emergency areas) whose coverage areas (e.g. normal coverage area and/or extended coverage area) are totally within the impact area or at least partially within the impact area, Edge [0084] the warning message may include an identifier (e.g. a cell global identifier) for each cell in the subset of interior cells);
sending the write replace warning request and the one or more tracking area identifiers to a local mobility management entity (Edge [0067] CBC 608 may be configured to transmit a write-replace warning request message to MME 606 containing the warning message and the delivery attributes (e.g., one or more of a message identifier, serial number, tracking area ID list, warning area, an Operation and Maintenance Center (OMC) identity (ID), a Concurrent Warning Message (CWM) indicator, a send write-replace-warning indication, and/or a global eNB ID) to the MME 606); and
receiving a confirmation message from the local mobility management entity indicating that the wireless emergency alert message has been distributed to the corresponding destination cell (Edge [0069] the MME 606 may transmit a write-replace warning confirm message back to the CBC 608 at operation 620... MME 606 forwards the write-replace warning request message to eNB 604 after utilizing the tracking area ID list received from the CBC 608 to determine eNB 604 and other eNBs to which the warning message should be sent).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Edge et al. and Venna et al. teaches The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving an alarm (Edge [0081] receiving an alert message from a gateway node);
generating the wireless emergency alert message for one or more target cells of the cellular network serving the emergency incident area (Edge [0066] the CBC 608 is configured to process the received emergency broadcast request information to generate a list of impacted cells);;
delivering a first broadcast request to a 4G cell broadcast function (Edge [0084] sending a first warning message to a second network node for the wireless network... the warning message may include an identifier (e.g. a cell global identifier) for each cell in the subset of interior cells ) when any of the one or more target cells are in a 4G cellular network (Edge [0084] the second network node is an MME (e.g. MME 414a or MME 414b) );
delivering a second broadcast request to a 5G cell broadcast function (Edge [0084] sending a first warning message to a second network node for the wireless network... the warning message may include an identifier (e.g. a cell global identifier) for each cell in the subset of interior cells) when any of the one or more target cells are in a 5G cellular network (Edge [0084] the second network node is ... an AMF (e.g. AMF 416));
generating a first write replace warning request (Edge [0068] generate a first write-replace warning request message containing impact area information) in response to the first broadcast request (Edge [0066] the CBC 608 is configured to process the received emergency broadcast request information to generate a list of impacted cells);
generating a second write replace warning request (Edge [0068] generate a first write-replace warning request message containing impact area information ) in response to the second broadcast request (Edge [0066] the CBC 608 is configured to process the received emergency broadcast request information to generate a list of impacted cells); and
delivering at least one of the first write replace warning request and the second write replace warning request to the one or more target cells (Edge [0069] MME 606 forwards the write-replace warning request message to eNB 604 after utilizing the tracking area ID list received from the CBC 608 to determine eNB 604 and other eNBs to which the warning message should be sent).
Regarding claim 36, the combination of Edge et al. and Venna et al. teaches The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting an alert message to an external entity outside the facility (Venna [0084] the digitized voice alert can be transmitted through a network (e.g., a cellular communications network) for broadcast to one or more remote electronic devices), in response to receiving the alert for the emergency event at the in-facility network (Venna [0083] the one or more sensors in and/or associated with the residence can detect an activity (e.g., window opens, door opens, smoke detected, etc.)).
The motivation of doing so would have transmitted the alert to remote devices.
Regarding claim 47, Edge et al. teach A system for providing a wireless emergency alert message for a facility, the system comprising;
a network of the facility (Edge (Edge [0039] an impacted area represented by an elliptical shape 302a is overlaid on the coverage area of the access network 300 ,Edge [0075] The geographic area may include or comprise a polygon, a circle, an ellipse or some other two-dimensional area or possibly three-dimensional volume (e.g. such as corresponding to the upper floors of a tall building. Note: an in facility network is interpreted as CMCP Core Network (CN) 406 in Fig. 4 serving the facility interpreted as the tall building); and
wherein the network of the facility is configured to:
receive an alert for an emergency event (Edge [0042] A CMSP core network (CN) 406 (e.g. corresponding to CMSP network 104 in FIG. 1 and CMSP network 204 in FIG. 2A) receives alerts including impact area information, Edge [0065] alert information may be transmitted from the alert gateway 612 to CBE 610. For example, the alert information may include general information regarding an emergency event),
identify an emergency incident area of the facility based on the alert (Edge [0066] process the received emergency broadcast request information to generate a list of impacted cells (or impacted tracking areas or impacted emergency areas). The impacted cells (or impacted tracking areas or emergency areas) may comprise cells (or tracking areas or emergency areas) whose coverage areas (e.g. normal coverage area and/or extended coverage area) are totally within the impact area or at least partially within the impact area.);
in response to the identification, send, from an in-facility wireless emergency alert (WEA) gateway ([0042] CMSP gateway 408 may also be referred to as Cell Broadcast Entity (CBE) ) forming a portion of the in-facility network (Edge Fig. 4 showing CPSP Gateway (CBE) as portion of CMSP Core Network 406) a write replace warning request comprising the wireless emergency alert message to a local cell broadcast center of a cellular network (Edge [0032] alert messages may originate from ... local emergency operations centers (EOCs) ... The alert information is then provided to a CMSP network 204), Edge [0042] CMSP gateway 408 may also be referred to as Cell Broadcast Entity (CBE), Edge [0065] the CBE 610 may transmit an emergency broadcast request signal (e.g. a message) containing the alert information to the CBC 608); and
send the wireless emergency alert message through a cellular network to one or more wireless devices within the emergency incident area (Edge [0034] The CMSP network 204 is configured to generate alert messages including geographic boundaries and broadcast the alert messages to one or more mobile devices 208, Edge [0046] the base stations, comprising the eNBs 422a-d, ng-eNB 432 and gNB 434 broadcast the alert message (e.g. using a SIB12) to UEs 405 in their respective coverage areas, Edge [0069] ENB 604 may then broadcast the warning message in the determined cells, Edge [0072] a UE 602 which receives an alert from an interior cell or cell sector may perform user alerting immediately) via a base station of the cellular network that provides coverage for the emergency incident area (Edge [0046] the base stations, comprising the eNBs 422a-d, ng-eNB 432 and gNB 434 broadcast the alert message (e.g. using a SIB12) to UEs 405 in their respective coverage areas, Edge [0069] ENB 604 may then broadcast the warning message in the determined cells, Edge [0072] a UE 602 which receives an alert from an interior cell or cell sector may perform user alerting immediately).
Edge et al. do not teach
one or more sensors disposed in the facility.
In a similar endeavor, Verena et al. teach
one or more sensors disposed in the facility (Verna [0083] the one or more sensors in and/or associated with the residence can detect an activity (e.g., window opens, door opens, smoke detected, etc.))
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 Edge t al system et al. by incorporating Verna et al. sensors to arrive at the invention
The motivation of doing so would have detected the emergency event in the residence using the sensors.
Regarding claim 49, the combination of Edge et al. and VERNA et al teaches The system of claim 47, wherein the network of the facility is further configured to:
map a location of the emergency event to one or more cells of the cellular network that serve the emergency incident area (Edge [0044] decide in which cells (or in which tracking areas or emergency areas which may map to cells) an alert message needs to be broadcast based on the impact area);
generate the wireless emergency alert message for the one or more cells (Edge [0046] AMF 416 may perform a corresponding role with respect to transferring the alert message along with a list of cells and the interior/exterior classifications to one or more of gNBs 434); and
send the wireless emergency alert message to the one or more cells for distribution to the one or more wireless devices within the emergency incident area (Edge [0046] the base stations, comprising the eNBs 422a-d, ng-eNB 432 and gNB 434 broadcast the alert message (e.g. using a SIB12) to UEs 405 in their respective coverage areas).
Regarding claim 50, the combination of Edge et al. and VERNA et al teaches The system of claim 47, wherein the network of the facility is further configured to:
obtain a category for the emergency event (Edge [0032] An alert message may be triggered by various types of emergencies, such as an earthquake, a tsunami, a flood, a tornado, a wildfire, an act of terrorism, acts of war, civil unrest, and/or child abduction (e.g., an AMBER alert));
determine the emergency incident area of the facility based at least in part on the category (Edge [0030] the WEA system 100 may generate and provide alert messages to notify users about a geographically specific emergency such as an earthquake, a tsunami, a flood, a tornado, a wildfire, an act of terrorism, a child abduction (e.g., an AMBER alert));
map a location of the emergency event to one or more cells of the cellular network that serve the emergency incident area (Edge [0044] decide in which cells (or in which tracking areas or emergency areas which may map to cells) an alert message needs to be broadcast based on the impact area);
generate the wireless emergency alert message for the one or more cells (Edge [0046] AMF 416 may perform a corresponding role with respect to transferring the alert message along with a list of cells and the interior/exterior classifications to one or more of gNBs 434); and
sending the wireless emergency alert message to the one or more cells for distribution to the one or more wireless devices within the emergency incident area (Edge [0046] the base stations, comprising the eNBs 422a-d, ng-eNB 432 and gNB 434 broadcast the alert message (e.g. using a SIB12) to UEs 405 in their respective coverage areas).
Regarding claim 51, the combination of Edge et al. and VERNA et al teaches The system of claim 47, wherein the network of the facility is further configured to:
receive an alerting request incorporating the wireless emergency alert message (Edge [0065] the CBE 610 may transmit an emergency broadcast request signal (e.g. a message) containing the alert information to the CBC 608);
generate a write request incorporating the wireless emergency alert message (Edge [0067] a write-replace warning request message to MME 606 containing the warning message and the delivery attributes);
select one or more area identifiers corresponding to the emergency incident area wherein each of the one or more area identifiers is associated with a corresponding destination cell of the cellular network (Edge [0066] process the received emergency broadcast request information to generate a list of impacted cells (or impacted tracking areas or impacted emergency areas). The impacted cells (or impacted tracking areas or emergency areas) may comprise cells (or tracking areas or emergency areas) whose coverage areas (e.g. normal coverage area and/or extended coverage area) are totally within the impact area or at least partially within the impact area, Edge [0084] the warning message may include an identifier (e.g. a cell global identifier) for each cell in the subset of interior cells);;
send the write request and the one or more area identifiers to a mobility management mechanism (Edge [0067] CBC 608 may be configured to transmit a write-replace warning request message to MME 606 containing the warning message and the delivery attributes (e.g., one or more of a message identifier, serial number, tracking area ID list, warning area, an Operation and Maintenance Center (OMC) identity (ID), a Concurrent Warning Message (CWM) indicator, a send write-replace-warning indication, and/or a global eNB ID) to the MME 606); and
receive a confirmation message from the mobility management mechanism indicating that the wireless emergency alert message has been distributed to the corresponding destination cell (Edge [0069] the MME 606 may transmit a write-replace warning confirm message back to the CBC 608 at operation 620... MME 606 forwards the write-replace warning request message to eNB 604 after utilizing the tracking area ID list received from the CBC 608 to determine eNB 604 and other eNBs to which the warning message should be sent).
Regarding claim 52, the combination of Edge et al. and VERNA et al teaches The system of claim 47, wherein the cellular network comprises a 4G network (Edge [0042] A CBC 410a may be used in an LTE architecture ), a 5G network (Edge [0042] a CBC Function (CBCF) 410b may be used to in a 5G architecture), or both, the system further comprising:
receiving an alerting request at a local cell broadcast center of the cellular network, the alerting request incorporating the wireless emergency alert message (Edge [0065] the CBE 610 may transmit an emergency broadcast request signal (e.g. a message) containing the alert information to the CBC 608);
generating a write replace warning request incorporating the wireless emergency alert message (Edge [0067] a write-replace warning request message to MME 606 containing the warning message and the delivery attributes);
selecting one or more tracking area identifiers corresponding to the emergency incident area, wherein each tracking area identifier is associated with a corresponding destination cell of the cellular network (Edge [0066] process the received emergency broadcast request information to generate a list of impacted cells (or impacted tracking areas or impacted emergency areas). The impacted cells (or impacted tracking areas or emergency areas) may comprise cells (or tracking areas or emergency areas) whose coverage areas (e.g. normal coverage area and/or extended coverage area) are totally within the impact area or at least partially within the impact area.);;
sending the write replace warning request and the one or more tracking area identifiers to a local mobility management entity (Edge [0067] CBC 608 may be configured to transmit a write-replace warning request message to MME 606 containing the warning message and the delivery attributes (e.g., one or more of a message identifier, serial number, tracking area ID list, warning area, an Operation and Maintenance Center (OMC) identity (ID), a Concurrent Warning Message (CWM) indicator, a send write-replace-warning indication, and/or a global eNB ID) to the MME 606); and
receiving a confirmation message from the local mobility management entity indicating that the wireless emergency alert message has been distributed to the corresponding destination cell (Edge [0069] the MME 606 may transmit a write-replace warning confirm message back to the CBC 608 at operation 620... MME 606 forwards the write-replace warning request message to eNB 604 after utilizing the tracking area ID list received from the CBC 608 to determine eNB 604 and other eNBs to which the warning message should be sent).
Regarding claim 53, the combination of Edge et al. and VERNA et al teaches The system of claim 47, further comprising:
receiving an alarm (Edge [0081] receiving an alert message from a gateway node);
generating the wireless emergency alert message for one or more target cells of the cellular network serving the emergency incident area (Edge [0066] the CBC 608 is configured to process the received emergency broadcast request information to generate a list of impacted cells);;
delivering a first broadcast request to a 4G cell broadcast function (Edge [0084] sending a first warning message to a second network node for the wireless network... the warning message may include an identifier (e.g. a cell global identifier) for each cell in the subset of interior cells ) when any of the one or more target cells are in a 4G cellular network (Edge [0084] the second network node is an MME (e.g. MME 414a or MME 414b) );
delivering a second broadcast request to a 5G cell broadcast function (Edge [0084] sending a first warning message to a second network node for the wireless network... the warning message may include an identifier (e.g. a cell global identifier) for each cell in the subset of interior cells ) when any of the one or more target cells are in a 5G cellular network (Edge [0084] the second network node is ... an AMF (e.g. AMF 416));
generating a first write replace warning request (Edge [0068] generate a first write-replace warning request message containing impact area information) in response to the first broadcast request (Edge [0066] the CBC 608 is configured to process the received emergency broadcast request information to generate a list of impacted cells);
generating a second write replace warning request (Edge [0068] generate a first write-replace warning request message containing impact area information ) in response to the second broadcast request (Edge [0066] the CBC 608 is configured to process the received emergency broadcast request information to generate a list of impacted cells); and
delivering at least one of the first write replace warning request and the second write replace warning request to the one or more target cells (Edge [0069] MME 606 forwards the write-replace warning request message to eNB 604 after utilizing the tracking area ID list received from the CBC 608 to determine eNB 604 and other eNBs to which the warning message should be sent).
Claim 54 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Edge et al. in view of Verna et al. and in further view of Su et al. (CN 207442842 U)
Regarding claim 54, the combination of Edge et al. and VERNA et al teaches The system of claim 47, but do not teach
wherein the system is configured to provide power distribution and communication on a single path.
In a similar endeavor, Su et al. teach
wherein the system is configured to provide power distribution and communication on a single path (Su [0016] simultaneously transmit DC and RF signals on a single coaxial cable without the need for additional DC power transmission cables).
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 the combination of Edge et al. and VERNA et al. by incorporating Su et al. single cable purpose to arrive at the invention.
The motivation of doing so would have utilized a single cable for two functions.
Conclusion
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/SAID M ELNOUBI/ Examiner, Art Unit 2644
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