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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Priority
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/437,279, filed January 5, 2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) is submitted on 2/9/2024 was filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. According, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Specification
The use of the term “Wi-Fi”, “3GPP”, which is a trade name or a mark used in commerce, has been noted in this application. The term should be accompanied by the generic terminology; furthermore the term should be capitalized wherever it appears or, where appropriate, include a proper symbol indicating use in commerce such as ™, SM , or ® following the term.
Although the use of trade names and marks used in commerce (i.e., trademarks, service marks, certification marks, and collective marks) are permissible in patent applications, the proprietary nature of the marks should be respected and every effort made to prevent their use in any manner which might adversely affect their validity as commercial marks.
Claim Objections
Claim 17 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 17 recites “a first message” on line 2. Examiner recommend changing the limitation to “[[a]] the first message.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
The claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more such as an idea standing alone such as an instantiated concept, pan or scheme, as well as a mental process (thinking) that “can be performed in the human mind, or by a human using a pen and paper”, for example receiving, by a base station from a core network node, a message, and sending by the base station to a second base station a handover request message. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the generically recited computer elements do not add a meaningful limitation to the abstract idea because they amount to simply implementing the abstract idea on a computer. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because he steps of the claimed invention can be done mentally and no additional features in the claims would preclude them from being performed as such.
CLAIM ANALYSIS
STEP 1: YES. The claims meet the statutory categories.
Claims 1-18 fall within a statutory category of machine.
Claim 19 falls within a statutory category of machine.
Claim 20 falls within a statutory category of manufacture.
STEP 2A: PRONG ONE YES. The claims are directed to a judicial exception.
Claims 1-20 recite a judicial exception being directed to an abstract idea.
As a representative example, take Claim 19:
A first base station comprising one or more processors and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the base station to perform a process comprising:
receiving, by the first base station from a core network node, a message comprising an information element indicating that a wireless device is authorized to access a cell operated by a mobile integrated access and backhaul (mIAB) node; and
sending, by the first base station to a second base station, a handover request message requesting a handover of the wireless device to a first cell, of the second base station, operated by the mIAB node
(Additional elements appearing in bold analyzed in Steps 2A,2B below)
In plain language, the claim steps above in the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) comprise receive a message indication authorization, and send a message.
These steps are merely a mental process (i.e. receiving and transmitting information). Examiner notes mental process includes describe mental observations and evaluations that can be performed in the human mind using observation, evaluation, judgment, and opinion and also those performed with a pen/pencil or a general purpose computer (i.e. receiving and transmitting).
Claims 1 and 20 contain the same process steps as claim 19, performed using general purpose computer.
STEP 2A Prong Two: NO. Evaluating additional elements recited in the claim individually and in combination, the claim as a whole does not integrate the exception into a practical application.
The additional elements in in claim 19 appear in bold and account for insignificant extra solution activity. The limitations merely define the intended environment (i.e. base station, a second base station, a core network node, a cell) defined generally and are mere generic entities constitute mere data transmitting and receiving and amount to receiving or transmitting data generally, which is well-understood, routine, conventional activity. See MPEP 2106.05(d), subsection II. The limitations remain insignificant extra-solution activity even upon reconsideration. Even when considered in combination, the additional elements represent mere instructions to apply an exception and insignificant extra-solution activity, which cannot provide an inventive concept.
STEP 2B: NO. Evaluating additional elements recited, the claim as a whole does not recite additional elements that amount to significantly more than the judicial exception.
The analysis above in parts and re-evaluated again for the claims as a whole, the additional elements are mere generic entities such as “base station”, “second base station”, “core network node”, “a cell” without any given implementation thus amount to data transmitting and receiving recited at a high level of generality and amount to receiving or transmitting data over a network, which is well-understood, routine, conventional activity. See MPEP 2106.05(d), subsection II.
The limitations remain insignificant extra-solution activity even upon reconsideration. Even when considered in combination, the additional elements represent mere instructions to apply an exception and insignificant extra-solution activity, which cannot provide an inventive concept.
ANALYSIS 2A Dependent Claims 2-18
Dependent claims recite additional elements: Uu interface in claims 3 and 4, F1 interface in claim 4, a mobility management node or an access and mobility function (AMF) in claim 5, third base station in claim 7, mIAB access group in claims 8-10 and 18.
The dependent claims further recite additional elements that are recited at a high level of generality and thus amount to intended environment descriptors. Thus, the claims are mere data receiving and transmitting recited at a high level of generality, and thus are insignificant extra-solution activity. See MPEP 2106.05(g) (“whether the limitation is significant”). In addition, all uses of the recited judicial exceptions require such data gathering and output, and, as such, these limitations do not impose any meaningful limits on the claim. These limitations amount to necessary data gathering, analyzing and outputting. See MPEP 2106.05.
ANALYSIS 2B Dependent Claims 2-18 NO. Evaluating additional elements recited, the claim as a whole does not recite additional elements that amount to significantly more than the judicial exception.
The analysis above in parts and re-evaluated again for the claims as a whole, the additional elements are mere data transmitting and receiving recited at a high level of generality and amount to receiving or transmitting data over a network, which is well-understood, routine, conventional activity. See MPEP 2106.05(d), subsection II.
The limitations remain insignificant extra-solution activity even upon reconsideration. Even when considered in combination, the additional elements represent mere instructions to apply an exception and insignificant extra-solution activity, which cannot provide an inventive concept.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 1, 2, 5, 8, 11-14, 16-18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Chen et al. (US 20250184871 A1 and Chen hereinafter).
Regarding claim 1, Chen teaches a base station (Figure 2 and Paragraph 0027; base station 202) comprising one or more processors (Figure 2 and Paragraph 0027; processor) and memory (Figure 2 and Paragraph 0027; memory) storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the base station to perform a process (Figure 2 and Paragraph 0032; the memory modules 216 and 234 may each include non-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by the processor modules 210 and 230, respectively) comprising:
sending, by the base station (BS) to a second BS, a message comprising an authorization information (Paragraphs 0057 and 0058; AMF can provide the gNB [interpreted as the base station (BS)] with the mobility restrictions information applicable for the MR access. The gNB send mobile IAB indication or the supported CAG identifier, vehicle identifier, NID of its cell to neighboring gNB [interpreted as a second BS]) indicating that a wireless device is authorized to access a cell operated by a mobile integrated access and backhaul (mIAB) node (Paragraphs 0051 and 0052; the UE may be able to know that the UE itself is allowed to access the mobile IAB node on a specific vehicle, and the UE may be configured with access related configuration information, such as from gNB, gNB-CU, gNB-DU, or an access and mobility management function (AMF). Paragraphs 0057 and 0058; the AMF determine whether the UE is allowed to access the cell based on access related information).
Regarding claim 2, Chen teaches all of the limitations of claim 1, as described above. Further, Chen teaches the process further comprising receiving by the BS from the second BS, a first message indicating a first cell of the second BS being operated by a first mIAB node (Paragraph 0094; a first wireless communication node (e.g., a BS 102 or 202, CN 302, IAB node 306a-d) may provide, broadcast, transmit, or otherwise send configuration to a network element (e.g., IAB node 306a-d), the configuration information may define, identify, or otherwise specify one or more parameters for facilitating communication with or access to a network cell (e.g., IAB cell) supported by at least one IAB node (e.g., a IAB node 306a-d, IAB-CU, or IAB-DU). Figure 5 and Paragraph 0093; a second wireless communication node may receive access-related information from first wireless communication node and send response information).
Regarding claim 5, Chen teaches all of the limitations of claim 1, as described above. Further, Chen teaches the process further comprising, receiving by the BS from a core network node, a second message comprising the authorization information, wherein the core network node comprises at least one of a mobility management node or an access and mobility function (AMF) (Paragraphs 0057 and 0058; AMF can check whether the UE is allowed to access the cell and provide the gNB with the mobility restrictions information applicable for the MR access).
Regarding claim 8, Chen teaches all of the limitations of claim 1, as described above. Further, Chen teaches wherein the authorization information indicates one or more mIAB access groups for which the wireless device is allowed to access (Paragraphs 0008 and 0013; first wireless communication node or a CU connected with the first wireless communication node may receive access related information from an IAB node or a distributed unit (DU), the access related information may include at least one of: a mobile IAB indication, a CAG identifier, a vehicle identifier, or a network identifier. Paragraph 0054; the CAG [closed access group] can identify a group of UEs that are permitted to access one or more CAG cells associated to the CAG. Paragraphs 0070 and 0071; the gNB receives a paging message (e.g., from AMF) including at least one of the following: mobile IAB allowed/enabled/prioritized indication, a list of CAG ID/vehicle ID/NID allowed for the UE, an indication which indicates whether the UE is allowed to access non-mobile IAB cells).
Regarding claim 11, Chen teaches all of the limitations of claim 5, as described above. Further, Chen teaches the process further comprising sending by the BS, a system information block (Paragraph 0047; system information block) indicating whether the BS supports a feature of mIAB (Paragraph 0061; the frequency providing MR service [interpreted as mIAB]. Paragraph 0094; first wireless communication node may provide, broadcast, transmit, or otherwise send configuration information specifying one or more parameters for facilitating communication with or access to a network cell (e.g., IAB cell) supported by at least one IAB node (e.g., a IAB node 306a-d, IAB-CU, or IAB-DU)).
Regarding claim 12, Chen teaches all of the limitations of claim 11, as described above. Further, Chen teaches the process further comprising receiving by the BS, a third message indicating whether the wireless device supports the feature of mIAB (Paragraphs 0057 and 0058; AMF can check whether the UE is allowed to access the cell and provide the gNB with the mobility restrictions information applicable for the MR access. Paragraphs 0060 and 0061; if UE is MR capable [interpreted as support mIAB]. Figure 6 and Paragraph 0106; the first wireless communication node may receive the updated configuration information from the second wireless communication node. Paragraph 0107; the configuration information may be for a DU (e.g., gNB-DU), and may define, identify, or otherwise specify one or more parameters for facilitating communication with or access to a network cell (e.g., IAB cell) supported by at least one IAB node (e.g., a IAB node 306a-d, IAB-CU, or IAB-DU)).
Regarding claim 13, Chen teaches all of the limitations of claim 11, as described above. Further, Chen teaches wherein the feature of mIAB comprises at least one of receiving information associated with mIAB, sending information associated with mIAB, handling information associated with mIAB, managing a cell associated with mIAB (Paragraph 0094; first wireless communication node may provide, broadcast, transmit, or otherwise send configuration information specifying one or more parameters for facilitating communication with or access to a network cell (e.g., IAB cell) supported by at least one IAB node (e.g., a IAB node 306a-d, IAB-CU, or IAB-DU)).
Regarding claim 14, Chen teaches all of the limitations of claim 11, as described above. Further, Chen teaches the process further comprising receiving by the BS from the second BS, a mIAB support indicator indicating whether the second BS supports the feature of mIAB (Figure 6 and Paragraph 0106; the first wireless communication node may receive the updated configuration information from the second wireless communication node. Paragraph 0107; the configuration information may be for a DU (e.g., gNB-DU), and may define, identify, or otherwise specify one or more parameters for facilitating communication with or access to a network cell (e.g., IAB cell) supported by at least one IAB node (e.g., a IAB node 306a-d, IAB-CU, or IAB-DU)).
Regarding claim 16, Chen teaches all of the limitations of claim 1, as described above. Further, Chen teaches the process further comprising sending by the BS to the wireless device and based on the authorization information (Paragraphs 0057 and 0058; AMF can check whether the UE is allowed to access the cell and provide the gNB with the mobility restrictions information applicable for the MR access), a measurement configuration requesting a measurement of one or more cells of one or more mIAB nodes (Paragraph 0065; if the mobile IAB cell notifies the PCI, NCGI, frequency, TAC, or RNAC change to UE via system information, the UE may perform the intra/inter-frequency measurement with the stored information).
Regarding claim 17, Chen teaches all of the limitations of claim 2, as described above. Further, Chen teaches the process further comprising receiving by the BS from the second BS, a first message indicating a type of the first cell, wherein the type indicates at least one of a mIAB type cell or a non-mIAB type cell (Figure 6 and Paragraph 0106; the first wireless communication node may receive the updated configuration information from the second wireless communication node. Paragraph 0107; the configuration information may be for a DU (e.g., gNB-DU), and may define, identify, or otherwise specify one or more parameters for facilitating communication with or access to a network cell (e.g., IAB cell) supported by at least one IAB node (e.g., a IAB node 306a-d, IAB-CU, or IAB-DU)).
Regarding claim 18, Chen teaches all of the limitations of claim 1, as described above. Further, Chen teaches wherein the message further indicates at least one of one or more mIAB access group identifiers allowed for the wireless device, or one or more mIAB identifiers allowed for the wireless device (Paragraphs 0008 and 0013; first wireless communication node or a CU connected with the first wireless communication node may receive access related information from an IAB node or a distributed unit (DU), the access related information may include at least one of: a mobile IAB indication, a CAG identifier, a vehicle identifier, or a network identifier. Paragraph 0054; the CAG [closed access group] can identify a group of UEs that are permitted to access one or more CAG cells associated to the CAG. Paragraphs 0070 and 0071; the gNB receives a paging message (e.g., from AMF) including at least one of the following: mobile IAB allowed/enabled/prioritized indication, a list of CAG ID/vehicle ID/NID allowed for the UE, an indication which indicates whether the UE is allowed to access non-mobile IAB cells).
Regarding claim 20, claim 20 recites similar features as claim 1, therefore is rejected for at least the same reason as discussed above regarding claim 1. Further, Chen teaches non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a base station, cause the base station to perform a process (Figure 2 and Paragraph 0032; the memory modules 216 and 234 may each include non-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by the processor modules 210 and 230, respectively).
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 15 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen, as applied in the claims above, further in view of Wu (US 20240031893 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Chen teaches all of the limitations of claim 2, as described above.
Chen does not explicitly teach wherein the first mIAB node provides a first Uu interface to one or more wireless device, via the first cell. In an analogous art, Wu teaches wherein the first mIAB node provides a first Uu interface to one or more wireless device, via the first cell (Figure 1 and Paragraphs 0063 and 0067; IAB-DU for providing access connection via a Uu interface to the UE 102 or downstream MTs of any IAB-nodes). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Chen and Wu because it would provide inter-donor migration through support in signaling, managing context and modifying the topology (Wu, Paragraph 0011).
Regarding claim 4, Chen teaches all of the limitations of claim 2, as described above.
Chen does not explicitly teach wherein the first mIAB node connects to the second BS via a second Uu interface of a second cell of the second BS, and exchanges one or more F1 interface messages with the second BS. In an analogous art, Wu teaches wherein the first mIAB node connects to the second BS via a second Uu interface of a second cell of the second BS, and exchanges one or more F1 interface messages with the second BS (Figure 1 and Paragraphs 0063 and 0067; the DU at the IAB-node 104 can connect to a CU hosted by any of the IAB-donors 108A, 108B, or 108C via an F1 interface. F1-C traffic and F1-U traffic between IAB-node 104 and IAB-donor-CU 172 is backhauled via the IAB-donor-DU 174 and the optional intermediate hop IAB-node 106). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Chen and Wu because it would provide inter-donor migration through support in signaling, managing context and modifying the topology (Wu, Paragraph 0011).
Regarding claim 6, Chen teaches all of the limitations of claim 2, as described above. Further, Chen teaches wherein the message is a handover message indicating a handover of the wireless device to the first cell (Paragraph 0074; for the mobile IAB scenario, the mobile IAB node may send the cells information to donor CU, the donor CU may then notify the neighbor gNB with the updated served cell information. Figure 6 and Paragraph 0022; figure 6 illustrates a flow diagram of a method of facilitating handovers in integrated access and backhaul (IAB) system. Paragraph 0082; source donor CU may send configuration of mobile IAB DU’s cells to the target donor CU during handover (HO) preparation phase of mobile IAB node), based on the authorization information indicating the wireless device being allowed for the mIAB node (Paragraphs 0051 and 0052; the UE may be able to know that the UE itself is allowed to access the mobile IAB node on a specific vehicle, and the UE may be configured with access related configuration information. Paragraphs 0057 and 0058; AMF can check whether the UE is allowed to access the cell and provide the gNB with the mobility restrictions information applicable for the MR access).
Chen does not explicitly teach a handover request message. In an analogous art, Wu teaches a handover request message (Paragraph 0093; the target IAB-donor 108B may receive the context of the IAB-node 104, the security information, and/or the user plane setting from the source IAB-donor 108A in a Handover Request message). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Chen and Wu because it would provide inter-donor migration through support in signaling, managing context and modifying the topology (Wu, Paragraph 0011).
Regarding claim 7, Chen teaches all of the limitations of claim 1, as described above. Further, Chen teaches the process further comprising, sending by the BS to a third BS (Paragraph 0074; for the mobile IAB scenario, the mobile IAB node may send the cells information to donor CU, the donor CU may then notify the neighbor gNB with the updated served cell information. Figure 6 and Paragraph 0022; figure 6 illustrates a flow diagram of a method of facilitating handovers in integrated access and backhaul (IAB) system. Paragraph 0082; source donor CU may send configuration of mobile IAB DU’s cells to the target donor CU during handover (HO) preparation phase of mobile IAB node), a second handover message requesting handover of a second wireless device, to a third cell not associated with the mIAB node, based on the second wireless device not being authorized to access the mIAB node (Paragraphs 0060 and 0061; if UE is not MR capable, UE can de-prioritize selection of the cells with corresponding vehicle ID, mobile IAB indication, NID, MR HRNN, or MR CAG ID. Paragraphs 0070 and 0071; the gNB receives a paging message (e.g., from AMF) including at least one of the following: mobile IAB allowed/enabled/prioritized indication, a list of CAG ID/vehicle ID/NID allowed for the UE, an indication which indicates whether the UE is allowed to access non-mobile IAB cells. The neighbor gNB node may use this information to avoid paging in cells on which the UE is not allowed to camp).
Chen does not explicitly teach a handover request message. In an analogous art, Wu teaches a handover request message (Paragraph 0093; the target IAB-donor 108B may receive the context of the IAB-node 104, the security information, and/or the user plane setting from the source IAB-donor 108A in a Handover Request message). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Chen and Wu because it would provide inter-donor migration through support in signaling, managing context and modifying the topology (Wu, Paragraph 0011).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Chen and Wu teaches all of the limitations of claim 6, as described above. Further, Chen teaches further comprising receiving by the BS from the second BS, an information indicating one or more second mIAB access groups associated with the first mIAB node of the second BS (Paragraphs 0008 and 0013; first wireless communication node or a CU connected with the first wireless communication node may receive access related information from an IAB node or a distributed unit (DU), the access related information may include at least one of: a mobile IAB indication, a CAG identifier, a vehicle identifier, or a network identifier. Paragraph 0054; the CAG [closed access group] can identify a group of UEs that are permitted to access one or more CAG cells associated to the CAG. Paragraph 0005 and 0106; second wireless communication node may send updated configuration information to the first wireless communication node, wherein the configuration information may be a closed access group (CAG) identifier, physical cell identifier (PCI), NR cell global identifier (NCGI), or Network Identifier (NID)).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Chen and Wu teaches all of the limitations of claim 9, as described above. Further, Chen teaches wherein the BS sends the handover, based on the one or more second mIAB access groups comprising at least one of the one or more mIAB access group for which the wireless device is allowed to access (Figure 6 and Paragraph 0106; the first wireless communication node may receive the updated configuration information from the second wireless communication node in preparation for handover).
In addition, Wu teaches the handover request message (Paragraph 0093; the target IAB-donor 108B may receive the context of the IAB-node 104, the security information, and/or the user plane setting from the source IAB-donor 108A in a Handover Request message). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Chen and Wu because it would provide inter-donor migration through support in signaling, managing context and modifying the topology (Wu, Paragraph 0011).
Regarding claim 15, Chen teaches all of the limitations of claim 11, as described above. Further, Chen teaches a message comprises an indication indicating whether the BS supports the feature of mIAB (Paragraph 0061; the frequency providing MR service [interpreted as mIAB]. Paragraph 0094; first wireless communication node may provide, broadcast, transmit, or otherwise send configuration information specifying one or more parameters for facilitating communication with or access to a network cell (e.g., IAB cell) supported by at least one IAB node (e.g., a IAB node 306a-d, IAB-CU, or IAB-DU)).
Chen does not explicitly teach the process further comprising sending by the BS to the core network node, a path switch request message, based on the wireless device being handed over to the BS from a fourth BS. In an analogous art, Wu teaches he process further comprising sending by the BS to the core network node, a path switch request message, based on the wireless device being handed over to the BS from a fourth BS (Paragraphs 0116 and 0139; the target IAB-donor 108B can send a Path Switch Request message (not shown) for the UE 102 to CN 110 (e.g., AMF 164) to trigger the CN 110 to switch a DL data path towards the target IAB-donor 108B and/or to establish an NG-C interface instance towards the target IAB-donor 108B). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Chen and Wu because it would provide inter-donor migration through support in signaling, managing context and modifying the topology (Wu, Paragraph 0011).
Regarding claim 19, Chen teaches a first base station (Figure 2 and Paragraph 0027; base station 202) comprising one or more processors (Figure 2 and Paragraph 0027; processor) and memory (Figure 2 and Paragraph 0027; memory) storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the base station to perform a process (Figure 2 and Paragraph 0032; the memory modules 216 and 234 may each include non-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by the processor modules 210 and 230, respectively) comprising:
receiving, by the first base station from a core network node, a message comprising an information element indicating that a wireless device is authorized to access a cell operated by a mobile integrated access and backhaul (mIAB) node (Paragraphs 0057 and 0058; AMF can provide the gNB [interpreted as the base station (BS)] with the mobility restrictions information applicable for the MR access. The gNB send mobile IAB indication or the supported CAG identifier, vehicle identifier, NID of its cell to neighboring gNB [interpreted as a second BS]) indicating that a wireless device is authorized to access a cell operated by a mobile integrated access and backhaul (mIAB) node (Paragraphs 0051 and 0052; the UE may be able to know that the UE itself is allowed to access the mobile IAB node on a specific vehicle, and the UE may be configured with access related configuration information, such as from gNB, gNB-CU, gNB-DU, or an access and mobility management function (AMF). Paragraphs 0057 and 0058; the AMF determine whether the UE is allowed to access the cell based on access related information); and
sending, by the first base station to a second base station, a message requesting a handover of the wireless device to a first cell, of the second base station (Paragraph 0074; for the mobile IAB scenario, the mobile IAB node may send the cells information to donor CU, the donor CU may then notify the neighbor gNB with the updated served cell information. Figure 6 and Paragraph 0022; figure 6 illustrates a flow diagram of a method of facilitating handovers in integrated access and backhaul (IAB) system. Paragraph 0082; source donor CU may send configuration of mobile IAB DU’s cells to the target donor CU during handover (HO) preparation phase of mobile IAB node), operated by the mIAB node (Paragraph 0094; a first wireless communication node (e.g., a BS 102 or 202, CN 302, IAB node 306a-d) may provide, broadcast, transmit, or otherwise send configuration to a network element (e.g., IAB node 306a-d), the configuration information may define, identify, or otherwise specify one or more parameters for facilitating communication with or access to a network cell (e.g., IAB cell) supported by at least one IAB node (e.g., a IAB node 306a-d, IAB-CU, or IAB-DU). Figure 5 and Paragraph 0093; a second wireless communication node may receive access-related information from first wireless communication node and send response information).
Chen does not explicitly teach a handover request message. In an analogous art, Wu teaches a handover request message (Paragraph 0093; the target IAB-donor 108B may receive the context of the IAB-node 104, the security information, and/or the user plane setting from the source IAB-donor 108A in a Handover Request message). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Chen and Wu because it would provide inter-donor migration through support in signaling, managing context and modifying the topology (Wu, Paragraph 0011).
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Zhu et al. (US 20250106698 A1) discloses an IAB node mobility management.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jing Gao whose telephone number is (571)270-7226. The examiner can normally be reached on 9am - 6pm M-F.
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/Jing Gao/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647